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.E STUDIES IN ENGLISH 
ALBERT S. COOK, Editor 

XLVII 

THE MAGNETIC LADY 

OR 

HUMORS RECONCILED 

BY 

BEN JONSON 

Edited with Introduction, Notes, and Glossary 

BY 

HARVEY WHITEFIELD PECK, Ph.D. 

Instructor iii..^gllah in the University of Texas. 



A Thesis presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Yale 
University in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 



NEW YORK 

HENRY F /D COMPANY 



PR ^6 



YALE STUDIES IN ENGLISH 
ALBERT S. COOK, Editor 

XLVII 

THE MAGNETIC LADY 

OR 

HUMORS RECONCILED 

BY 

BEN JONSON 

Edited with Introduction, Notes, and Glossary 

BY 

HARVEY WHITEFIELD PECK, Ph.D. 

Instructor In English in tlie University of Texas. 



A Thesis presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Yale 
University in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 



NEW YORK 

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 
1914 






Gift 
MAR 30 m\ 



WEIMAR : PRINTED BY R.WAGNER SOHN. 






C7^ 



PREFACE 

For assistance of various kinds in the editing of this 
play my hearty thanks are due to the following men : to 
Professor J. M. Berdan of Yale for the generous loan of 
his volume, which contains a copy of the first edition 
of The Magnetic Lady ; to Professor Charles P. Sherman 
of the Yale Law School for the explanation of a difficult 
point ; to Mr. Andrew Keogh, Mr, Henry R. Gruener, and 
Mr. George A. Johnson for bibliographical aid ; to Pro- 
fessor Brooke for valuable criticism ; and especially to 
my teacher, Professor Cook, for constant inspiration and 
criticism. 

A portion of the expence of printing this thesis has 
been borne by the English Club of Yale University, from 
funds placed at its disposal by the generosity of Mr. 
George E. Dimock, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, a graduate 
of Yale in the class of 1874. 

H. W. P. 

Yale University, 
May I, 1913. 



CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION 

A. Editions of the Text 

I. The Folio of 1640 . 
II. Subsequent Editions . 

B. Date and Reception of the Play 

C. Allegory in The Magnetic Lady 

D. The Satire .... 

I. Specific Objects of Satire 
II. Satire of Types or Classes 
III. Prototypes of the Characters in Jonson's 
Earlier Plays 

E. Sources 

I. Chaucer .... 
II. Greek Philosophy 

III. Other Classical Borrowings 

IV. Jonson's Earlier Plays 
V. Relation of The Magnetic Lady to Eliza- 
bethan and Jacobean Satire and the Sa- 
tiric Drama 

F. Extracts from the Critics 

G. Critical Estimate 

TEXT 

EXPLANATORY NOTES 

GLOSSARY .... 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

INDEX 



sj 



PAGE 

vii 
vii 
viii 
viii 

X 

xii 
xii \/ 
xiii*' 

xviii J 

XX 
XX 

xxi 
xxiii 
xxiii y 



XXIV 

xxvii 
xxxiii 
1 
109 
206 
226 
230 



INTRODUCTION 
A. Editions of the Text 

I. THE FOLIO OF 1640 

The Magnetic Lady was first published in the second 
volume of the 1640 folio of Jonson's collected works. 
The play reappears in all subsequent collected editions. 
These are : (i) the third folio, 1692 ; (2) a bookseller's 
edition, 1716 (1717) ; (3) Whalley's edition, 1756 ; (4) John 
Stockdale's reprint of Whalley's edition (together with 
the works of Beaumont and Fletcher), 1811 ; (5) Gil- 
ford's edition, 1816 ; (6) Barry Cornwall's one-volume 
edition, 1838 ; (7) Lieut. Col. Francis Cimningham's 
three-volume reissue (with some minor variations) of 
Gif ford's edition, 1871 ; (8) another reissue by Cunning- 
ham, in nine volumes (with additional notes), 1875. The 
catalogue of the British Museum shows that Jonson's 
works were printed in two volumes at Dublin in 1729. 
Of these editions, the original of 1640 is the only one 
calling for a detailed description ; and of the others only 
the first, second, third, fifth, and eighth will be dis- 
cussed. 

As this play was published after the death of the author, 
we cannot expect to find that it underwent any degree 
of correction in the course of printing off. The two 
copies of the original folio which I have collated — one 
belonging to Professor J. M. Berdan, the other found in 
the Yale University Library — are almost identical. There 
are only two variations in the form of words (which 
are recorded in the variants to the text), and about a 
dozen minor differences in punctuation. 



viii Introduction 

II. SUBSEQUENT EDITIONS 

The inaccuracies of the 1640 foho were gradually 
eHminated in the subsequent editions. The edition of 
1692 corrected some of the most obvious errors. It also 
attempted, not very consistently, to modernize punctua- 
tion, spelling, and capitalization. The edition of 1716 
made several emendations of value, but introduced new 
errors. It made a further attempt to modernize spelling 
and punctuation. The designation of the act, which in 
earlier editions appears at the beginning of each scene, is 
omitted except at the beginning of the act. Whalley's 
edition of 1756 is the first attempt at a critical text. It 
made several valuable emendations, re-arranged or made 
insertions in verses for better metrical effect, and in- 
dicated a change of speaker which was unnoticed in 
earlier editions. It stiU further modernized capitali- 
zation and spelling, and replaced elided vowels. Gil- 
ford's edition is the nearest approach to a critical text. 
His chief contribution was the addition of stage-di- 
rections and side-notes. He reduced the number of 
scenes, making each one represent an actual change of 
place rather than a single situation. He also re-arranged 
verses for metrical effect. A number of the changes, 
however, are of questionable value ; and his habit of 
spelling out elisions does violence, in some cases, to the 
metre. For a detailed discussion of these various editions 
of Jonson's works, see W. S. Johnson's edition of The 
Devil is an Ass, Introduction, pp. xiv— xvii. 



B. Date and Reception of the Play 

The Magnetic Lady was acted by the King's Majesty's 
Servants at the Blackfriars Theatre. The license for 
performing it, which was quoted by Malone from the 



Date and Reception of the Play ix 

Register of Sir H. Herbert, bears the date of 12th Oc- 
tober, 1632. The following item is copied from Fleay 
(p. 336) : 

1632. Oct. 12. — (For the King's men) £2 ' received of Knight 
(the Blackfriars bookkeeper) for allowing of Ben Jonson's play 
called Humours Reconciled or The Magnetic Lady to be acted.' 

It would seem, from a passage in a letter to Jonson by- 
James Howell, dated 27th Jan., 1629, that the play had 
already been written and acted; but the discrepancy is 
accounted for by Oldys. ' He tells us, in his manuscript 
notes to Langbaine, that Howell first published his letters 
without any dates, and that when he attempted to sub- 
join them in his subsequent editions, he confounded the 
time : " hence," says he, " so many errors in their dates." '^ 
' The time of the completion of the Magnetic Lady is 
fixed by the following sentence in a letter from John Pory 
to Sir Thomas Puckering, dated Sept. 20, 1632—" Ben 
Jonson (who I thought had been dead) hath written a play 
against next term called the Magnetick Lady." '^ 

As to the reception of the play, Langbaine wrote (be- 
fore 1 691) : ' This play is generally esteemed an excellent 
play : tho' in those days it found some enemies.'* Alex- 
ander Gill's satire, Uppon Ben Johnson's Magnetick 
Ladye^ shows who some of these enemies were : Nathaniel 
Butter, Inigo Jones, Richard Allestree, and the writer, 
Gill. Jonson's quarrel with Inigo Jones began (1630—31) 
a short time before the composition of this play. He 
satirized Jones as Vitruvius Hoop, as In-and-in Med- 
lay in a Tale of a Tub, and as Coronal Vitruvius in 
the Entertainment to the King and Queen at Bolsover on 
July 30, 1634. In The Magnetic Lady, although asserting 

^ Gifford, Works of Ben Jonson 6. 2. 
2 Collier, Annals of the Stage 2. 43—4. 

* Langbaine, Account of the English Dramatick Poets. 

* Gifford, Works 6. 113— 6. 



X Introduction 

that ' a play, though it apparell and present vices in 
general, flies from all particularities in persons,' Jonson 
made satiric allusions to AUestree and Butter, and prob- 
ably also to Gill (4. 2. 34; 3.5.139, and note). Fleay 
conjectures 1 that Damplay, who in the Induction derives 
Magnetic from Magnus, and who cites Vitruvius pedanti- 
cally, is Inigo Jones. It would be interesting to know 
whether the king or queen ever saw The Magnetic Lady 
acted. The absence of any reference to it in The Account 
0/ the Revels ^ argues against a presentation at court. 
However, the king was a liberal patron of the drama, and 
might have seen this play at the Blackfriars.^ At any 
rate, Jonson 's expression of deference and gratitude 
(i. Ch. 48), and the Epilogue to the King, make it probable 
that he expected a royal auditor. 



C. Allegory in The Magnetic Lady 

The element of allegory in The Magnetic Lady is slight. 
The play, as a whole, is a humor-comedy, satirizing under 
typical figures pronounced follies of the time. But Jon- 
son does not keep consistently to his main satiric purpose, 
occasionally introducing a thrust at a personal enemy, or 
deviating into the obscure regions of allegory. This ele- 
ment, however, has no organic function in the play : it is 
sporadic and trivial ; and what in some cases seems a 
touch of allegory is nothing more than a pun on the name 
of a character. The three personages in the play who may 
be considered allegorical are Lady Loadstone, Captain 
^^^^ Ironside, and Compass. In Woodbridge's Studies in Jon- 

1 B. Chron. i. 386. 

2 Fleay, History of the Stage, p. 318. 

^ H. B. Baker, The London Stage, p. 28. 



Allegory in the Magnetic Lady xi 

son's Comedy (p. 37), there is the following observation : 
* In The Magnetic Lady . . . Lady Loadstone's powers of 
attraction are continually alluded to, though with no 
apparent reason unless it be perhaps the sound of her 
name, and at the end she is married to Captain Ironside, 
presumably because magnet attracts iron.' But this 
statement, I think, reverses the process which Jonson 
would more naturally have followed — that of adapting 
the name to the character and the plot, rather than the 
reverse. And reflection upon the nature of allegory 
inclines me to the opinion that these personages should 
not be classified under that type. Allegorical characters 
are personifications of a single, abstract quality ; but these 
are typical characters, each with a predominant trait. 
Lady Loadstone is the rich and gracious hostess to whose 
hospitaJity is added the attraction of a wealthy and 
marriageable niece ; Compass is the astute observer and 
critic, the scholar with a satiric bent ; and the typical 
soldier swaggers in the person of Captain Ironside. In 
one passage, however. Lady Loadstone and Compass are 
mentioned as if they were merely symbolic personifica- 
tions : 

As Doctor Ridley writ, and Doctor Barlow ? 
They both have wrote of you and Mr. Compasse. 

(i. 4. 5; see note) 

Again, in Act 5, scene 5, Alderman Parrot's widow is 
described in such terms that one is doubtful as to 
whether the subject of conversation is a gentlewoman or 
a parrot. With the exception of these passages, the 
seemingly allegorical touches in the play may rather be 
explained as puns on the names which suggest the pre- 
dominant traits of typical characters than as genuine 
personifications. The marriage of Lady Loadstone and 
Ironside is a natural result of the situation ; rather hastily 
executed, to be sure, but not more so than the union of 



xii Introduction 

Oliver and Celia m. As You Like It ; and as justifiable, 
at least, as the marriage of Vincentio and Isabella in 
Measure for Measure. The allegory in The Magnetic Lady 
is much less extensive and important than that in The 
Staple of News. The quasi-allegorical passages are the 
product of Jonson's ingenuity, and belong to the same 
species of mental dexterity as his habit of punning, and 
his use of words with an ambiguous meaning or humorous 
connotation. 

D. The Satire 

L SPECIFIC OBJECTS OF SATIRE 

In The Magnetic Lady, Jonson, as he explains in the 
Induction (lines 86—97), is making a summary of his 
satiric humor-studies : he brings together ' a diversity of 
guests, aU persons of different humors to make up his peri- 
meter.' The result is not emphasis upon the satire of one 
or a few specific types or customs, but a more scattering 
and cursory treatment of many. Since the play lacks the 
unifying force of a central satiric motive, such as is ex- 
hibited in Volpone and The Alchemist, we cannot expect 
it to possess their dramatic power ; but to one who has 
made a study of Jonson's earlier works, the play is rich 
in literary allusion. 

In addition to his satire of representative types of folly 
or affectation, Jonson attacks various customs and super- 
stitions. He makes thrusts at astrology (2. 2. 50 ; 
5. ID. 14), the predictions of almanacs (4. 2. 25), and 
monopolies (i. 7. 74 ; 5. 3. 12). In this byplay he merely 
echoes work done more thoroughly in The Alchemist and 
The Devil is an Ass. The conflict of the humors of the 
captain and the courtier gives opportunity for an elabo- 
rate satire upon the duello, and in the last act he attacks 
the popular belief in demoniac possession, a phase of the 



The Satire xiii 

witchcraft-superstition. The exposure of this supersti- 
tion of demoniac possession in Act 5 is a much abridged 
parallel to the satire upon the belief in alchemy in The 
Alchemist. It is involved with satire upon the doctor's 
pretended powers of exorcism, and upon the popular 
belief in birds of omen. As the topic of the duello, and 
Jonson's satirical comments upon it, are discussed with 
some fulness in the notes (3. 3. 44; 3. 5. 21, 26), it is 
not necessary to deal with it further at this point. The 
satire upon the belief in demoniac possession and other 
allied objects of Jonson's humor and ridicule is also dis- 
cussed in the notes (5. 5. 8). The vogue of dueling and 
the belief in witchcraft were both elaborately satirized 
in The Devil is an Ass; and are discussed in their histori- 
cal relations in Johnson's edition of this play (Introduc- 
tion, pp. liv— Iviii, Ixii— Ixv). 



11. SATIRE OF TYPES OR CLASSES 

Before discussing the satire of types or classes, it may 
be well to classify the characters of the play. A survey 
of the group suggets the following division : (i) sympa- 
thetic characters; (2) humor-types not treated satirically; 
(3) minor characters ; and (4) satirized characters. In 
addition to these four main groups may be mentioned a 
fifth, the personages of the chorus — Probee, Damplay, 
and Boy of the House — who discuss questions of critical 
and theatrical interest that have a bearing upon the 
play. 

The one sympathetic person of the play is Compass. 
He is the chorus or ideal commentator ; his function is to 
expose and explain the follies of the other characters. 
Gifford remarks that he is the mouthpiece of Jonson ; and 
there certainly are strong points of resemblance between 
this character and the dramatist himself. His ideas and 



xiv Introduction 

sentiments are in harmony with those which Jonson ex- 
pressed in the Underwoods and Discoveries, and enforced 
dramatically through the speeches of Crites and Horace. 
His mental characteristics are also those of Jonson — 
keen observation, extensive knowledge, unerring insight 
into character, freedom from contemporary super- 
stitions. Like the dramatist, he is a scholar, and has 
been a soldier. If one is looking for autobiographical 
material in Jonson's plays, he may well be considered 
together with Horace, Crites, and Macilente. 

In the second group, the humor-types not treated sa- 
tirically, belong Captain Ironside and the midwife. 
Chair. The captain is the typical soldier and man of ac- 
tion — independent, void of ceremony, intolerant of affec- 
tation and caprice. Although sudden and quick in 
quarrel, he is without deep grudge or resentment, and 
ready to do another a good turn. He is a hasty and suc- 
cessful wooer. The midwife is a type pretty thoroughly 
individualized. She is coarse and morally obtuse, but 
has the attractive qualities of good nature, and healthy 
optimism. The forcefulness of her personality is shown 
indirectly in the success with which she composes the 
quarrel between Polish and Keep. 

In the third group, the minor characters or mere agents 
of the plot, belong Lady Loadstone, Placentia, Pleasance, 
Keep, Needle, and Item. 

The satirized characters, or main group, include Palate, 
the clergjonan ; Rut, the physician ; Silkworm, the 
courtier ; Practice, the lawyer ; Interest, the usurer ; Bias, 
the intriguing politician ; and Polish, whose character is 
sufficiently complex to require separate treatment. In 
satirizing these personages, Jonson is repeating work that 
he has done before. He is beyond doubt the greatest 
English satiric dramatist, and in his epigrams he took a high 
rank in satiric character-writing. The success of Jonson 



The Satire xv 

as a satiric dramatist is probably due in large part to 
the happy union of the man and the time. He possessed 
a strong intellectual endowment and sturdy common 
sense. His temper was serious and self-conscious. From 
his study of classical literature he acquired a reverence for 
form and for the rational element, and a fund of critical 
precepts. And he began to write at a time when the vogue 
of EHzabethan romantic literature was beginning to pass. 
Shakespeare's later comedies, which were contemporary 
with Jonson's Every Man in His Humor, were becoming 
increasingly serious in tone ; and a few years later he gave 
up for a time the production of romantic comedy, and 
devoted himself to the highest form of realism, tragedy. 
The decade from 1600 to 1610 was the most serious period 
of the national drama. The literary fashions and social 
culture introduced from Italy, though bearing excellent 
fruit with Sidney, Marlowe, Greene, Shakespeare, and 
others, had developed on the social side into affectation, 
extravagance, and vice. The death of Elizabeth removed 
a great national unifying and uplifting force ; and the cor- 
rupt court of James reduced to further disillusionment the 
idealistic temper of the preceding decade. The appeal of 
the drama at length became narrower, and the Puritan 
movement increasingly drew away the middle-class ele- 
ment from the theatres. The audience, it is probable, 
became composed mainly of the rabble and the courtiers ; 
and when, in the following decade, the reahstic drama was 
less in vogue, the coarse tragi-comedies of intrigue by 
Beaumont and Fletcher and their successors held the chief 
place on the stage. But Jonson, with the exception of the 
years when he was busy on the masques, persisted in the 
composition of realistic and satiric plays. While the 
majority of the dramatists were writing plays of adven- 
ture and intrigue with a foreign setting, he continued to 
satirize the follies of the time. The characters of The 



xvi Introduction 

Magnetic Lady, then, are not new ; they are the types 
found in Jonson's earlier plays, his epigrams, and the 
satires of the character-books — the courtier, the doctor, 
the prelate, the usurer, the lawyer. 

It would be interesting to consider just how much 
social justification there was for Jonson's satire ; to make 
allowance for the selection and emphasis of a negative 
and unsympathetic temper, and for the exaggeration due 
to the influence of the classics and the acceptance of the 
role of satirist. After reading Professor Ward's Some 
Political and Social Aspects of the Later Elizabethan and 
Earlier Stewart Period,^ one is inclined to believe that 
Jonson has overemphasized the objectionable features in 
the life of the times ; but any attempt at an exact estimate 
is beyond the purpose of this work. Since Jonson was 
satirizing the life of the court and the capital, and the 
court, especially during the reign of James, was notoriously 
corrupt, the satire may be considered a fairly accurate 
transcript of facts, even if a large part of the nation was 
morally and socially sound. 

Among the characters satirized, especial mention 
should be made of Polish. She and the midwife are the 
original creations of the play. In fact, Polish is portrayed 
as an individual character rather than a type. In one 
of Gif ford's notes ^ he makes the following observation : 
' How little Jonson is known to the dramatic critics may 
be collected from the silence which they aU observe 
respecting the character of Mrs. Polish, the most perfect 
representation of a gossiping " toad-eater " that the Eng- 
lish stage can boast. Supple, voluble, and abounding in 
anecdote, she wins her way to confidence, betrays her 
trust, insults the agents of her guilt in the madness of 
security, and when discovered, in spite of the readiness 

1 Cambridge History of English Literature, Vol. 5, chap. 14. 

2 Wks. 6. no— II. 



The Satire xvii 

of her subterfuges, assumes the most frontless hardihood, 
and without a touch of penitence for her crime, gaily 
proceeds to anticipate the reward of her treachery.' 
Castelain ^ calls Polish the one interesting character of the 
play. But there is, I think, another important trait of 
Polish's character which has escaped the notice of the 
critics, her Puritanism. This may be illustrated by quot- 
ing a few passages from her speeches : 

And then the Persians were our Puritanes. (i. 5. 18) 

She was both witty and zealous, 

And hghted all the Tinder o' the truth, 

As one said, of Religion, in our Parish, (i. 5. 33—5) 

When Chair, the midwife, composes the quarrel between 
Keepe and Polish, which the latter fears wiU result in the 
disclosure of her plot, she exclaims (4. 7. 11) : ' Blest be 
the Peace maker.' Also, before this, when the nurse in 
anger threatens to divulge the secret, Polish exclaims : 

Didst thou not sweare 
To keep it secret ? and upon what booke ? 
I do remember now. The Practice of Piety. (4. 4. 37) 

Almost as significant as evidences of the assumed religious 
character of Polish are the following : i. 4. 34 ; i. 4. 62 ; 
2. 2. 2. This Puritanic strain in her character has prob- 
ably been unnoticed because it is only one trait of several 
which are prominent. She is a toady, a ' stroaker,' a 
fa-^ning flatterer. Her loquacity is irrepressible. Her per- 
sonal ambition overrides all moral principle or respect for 
others. She has an active mind — is naturally clever. 
Moreover, she speaks the language and assumes the char- 
acter of the devout Puritan of the time. Besides creating 
an individual character, then, Jonson is repeating his 
satire of the Puritans : Polish belongs in the list with 
Ananias and Tribulation Wholesome of The Alchemist, 

^ Ben Jonson, p. 442. 



xviii Introduction 

Zeal-of-the land Busy and Dame Purecraft of Bartholo- 
mew Fair, and the ' surly shepherds ' of The Sad Shepherd. 
But the Puritanism of Polish is not so pronounced as 
theirs ; she is an individual in whom an assumed Puri- 
tanism is one of a number of co-ordinate characteristics. 
A type, of course, is more simple : it is a personality with 
one predominant trait, or with one trait especially em- 
phasized by the fact that it motivates a series of events. 
Ananias, Tribulation Wholesome, Busy, and Dame Pure- 
craft are simply obvious types of the Puritan, as Jonson 
saw him. Although the satire upon the Puritans, or upon 
religious hypocrites in general, which Jonson made in 
creating the character of Polish, is not so obvious as this 
earlier satire, it is an important element in the play ; in 
portraying her, he re-echoed work already done, as well as 
produced a striking dramatic personality. 

III. PROTOTYPES OF THE CHARACTERS IN 
JONSON'S EARLIER PLAYS 

It is easy to discover likenesses between most of the 
characters of this play and those of Jonson's earlier 
comedies, but a closer comparison will detect equally 
striking differences. Professor Ward observed, in com- 
menting upon Jonson's characterization ^ : ' His characters 
are never more original than when they at first sight 
appear to resemble other characters, either created by 
himself or his contemporaries. If instead of pointing out 
where Jonson's characters . . . resemble Shakespeare's, 
a languid criticism would condescend to enquire where 
they differ from their supposed prototypes, a beginning 
would have been made towards an appreciation of his 
supreme merits. To label Jonson's characters as a mere 
series of types of general ideas is to shut one's eyes to 

1 Hist, of Eng. Dram. Lit. II. 402. 



The Satire xix 

the nicety with which they are distinguished from others 
to which they have a superficial hkeness.' 

In the following comparisons, I am merely noting type- 
resemblances, or isolated likenesses, and am ignoring the 
individuality and realism of the characters which make 
them vivid and interesting. 

Compass recalls Macilente-Asper, of Every Man Out; 
Crites, of Cynthia's Revels ; and Horace, of The Poetaster. 
In his character of expositor, he belongs to the same class 
as these, and also to that of Carlo Buffone, in Every Man 
Out ; Truewit, Dauphine, and Clerimont, in The Silent 
Woman ; Volpone, Mosca, and Sir Politic Would-be, in 
The Fox ; and Arruntius, in Sejanus. Ironside is similar 
in some respects to Kastrill, of The Alchemist. He is the 
last of a list of captains or ' boys of the sword,' the literary 
descendants, or at least analogues, of Plautus' Miles 
Gloriosus ^ ; but, unlike them, he is a humor-study not 
drawn satirically ; he is a boisterous, but likable, character, 
and in the end is rewarded with the hand of the rich widow. 
Palate, in his character of glutton, recalls Jonson's supreme 
portrayal of the type in Sir Epicure Mammon, of The 
Alchemist. For the rest, he is the unlearned and worldly 
pastor, resembling Chaucer's Friar. Dr. Rut, in his charac- 
ter as the sensual, unprincipled, and superstitious physi- 
cian, is a much more forcible representative of the type 
than Almanac, of The Staple of News. Silkworm belongs 
with Fastidious Brisk, of Every Man Out, and Hedon, of 
Cynthia's Revels. As a boastful but timorous duelist he 
reminds one of Bobadill and Master Stephen, of Every Man 
In ; Shift, of Every Man Out ; Tucca, of The Poetaster ; Sir 
John Daw and Sir Amorous La-Foole, of The Silent 
Woman ; and Sir Glorious Tipto, of The New Inn. Prac- 
tice, as a type of the ambitious lawyer, is less objectionable 

1 Reinhardstoettner, Spdtere Bearbeitungen Plautinischer Lusi- 
spiele, pp. 8i, 103. 

b2 



A 



XX Introduction 

than Voltore, of The Fox, Sir Paul Eitherside, of The 
Devil is an Ass, and Picklock, of The Staple of News. 
Interest, as the typical usurer, or, in a broader sense, the 
typical miser, belongs with Sordido, of Every Man Out, 
Volpone and his expectant heirs, of The Fox, and Penny- 
boy, the usurer, of The Staple of News. Polish, as I have 
already noted, has an important trait in common with 
Ananias and Tribulation Wholesome, of The Alchemist, 
and Zeal-of-the-land Busy and Dame Purecraft, of 
Bartholomew Fair. Pleasance belongs to the same class 
of pleasant, but dependent and rather characterless women 
as Dame Pliant, of The Alchemist, Win Littlewit, of 
Bartholomew Fair, and Mrs. Fitzdottrell, of The Devil is 
an Ass. Finally Placentia, in her character of an heiress 
whose wealth attracts suitors, is similar to Pecunia, of 
The Staple of News. 



E. Sources 

I. CHAUCER 

As Ballman has pointed out,^ Jonson is largely in- 
debted to Chaucer for the characterization of Parson Pal- 
ate and Doctor Rut, the prototypes of these characters 
being the friar and the physician of The Canterbury Tales. 
Jonson also paraphrases a passage from The Canterbury 
Tales (3. 4. 22—6), and imitates Chaucer's rhyme and 
phrase in four other passages (i. i. Sy ; i. 2. 39 ; i. 2. 42 ; 
and I. 6. 14). There is also another couplet, unnoticed 
by Ballman, in which Jonson seems to repeat Chaucer's 
thought and poetic form (i. 2. 27). Of this indebtedness 
it is not necessary to speak further at this point, as it is 
considered in the explanatory notes. 

* Chaucer's Einfluss auf das Englische Drama (Strassburg, 1902), 
pp. 24-5. 



Sources xxi 

II. GREEK PHILOSOPHY 

In the discussion of valor in Act 3, scene 5, Jonson re- 
peats thoughts expressed in the speech of Lovel in Act 4, 
scene 4 of The New Inn. As the source of this speech has 
been investigated by Dr. Tennant in his edition of The 
New Inn, I shall merely indicate his conclusions. 

The parallel passages of The Magnetic Lady and The 
New Inn are as follows : 

M. L. 3.5.83—96. Pra. I think a cup of generous wine were better, 
Then fighting i' your shirts. Dia. Sir, Sir, my valour. 
It is a valour of another nature. 
Then to be mended by a cup of wine. 

Com. I should be glad to heare of any valours. 

Differing in kind; who have knowne hitherto. 

Only one vertue, they call Fortitude, 

Worthy the narae of valour. Iro. Which, who hath not. 

Is justly thought a Coward: And he is such. 

Dia. O, you ha' read the Play there, the New Inne, 
Of lonsons, that decries all other valour 
But what is for the publike. Iro. I doe that too. 
But did not learne it there; I thinke no valour 
Lies for a private cause. 

3. 5. Ill— 14. Dia. ... I doe know all kinds 
Of doing the busines, which the Towne cals valour. 
Com. . . . Your first ? Dia. Is a rash head-long unexperience. 

N. J. 4. 4. 39—48. It is the greatest vertue, and the safety 
Of all mankinde, the obiect of it is danger. 
A certaine meane 'twixt feare, and confidence : 
No inconsiderate rashnesse, or vaine appetite 
Of false encountring formidable things ; 
But a true science of distinguishing 
What's good or evill. It springs out of reason. 
And tends to perfect honesty, the scope 
Is alwayes honour, and the pubUque good : 
It is no valour for a priuate cause. 

M. L. 3. 5. 118— 19. Dia. The next, an indiscreet 
Presumption, grounded upon often scapes. 



xxii Introduction 

N. I. 4. 4. 206—7. So he is valiant. 

That yeelds not unto wrongs ; not he that scapes 'hem. 

M. L. 3. 5. 124—7. Com. . . . Your third ? Dia. Is nought but 

an excesse of choUer, 
That raignes in testy old men — . Com. Noble mens Porters 
And selfe conceited Poets. Dia. And is rather 
A peevishnesse, then any part of valour. 

N. I. 4. 4. 64—6. Lov. ... I never thought an angry person 

valiant: 
Vertue is never ayded by a vice. 

4. 4. 74—7. Lov. No man is valianter by being angry. 
But he that could not valiant be without : 
So, that it comes not in the aid of vertue. 
But in the stead of it. 

M. L. 3. 5. 150— I. Dia. But mine is a Judicial resolving. 
Or liberall undertaking of a danger — . 

N. I. 4. 4. 126—9. Lov. A valiant man 

Ought not to undergoe, or tempt a danger, 

But worthily, and by selected waves: 

He undertakes with reason, not by chance. 

M. L. 3. 5. 180—4. P''''^- But there's a Christian valour, 'hove 

these too. 
Bia. Which is a quiet patient toleration. 
Of whatsoever the malitious world 
With Injury doth unto you ; and consists 
In passion, more than action, Sir Diaphanous. 

N. I. 4. 4. 130—9. Lov. His valour is the salt to his other vertues. 
They are unseason'd without it. The waiting maids. 
Or the concomitants of it, are his patience, 
His magnanimity, his confidence, 
His constancy, security, and quiet ; 
He can assure himselfe against all rumour ! 
Despaires of nothing ! laughs at contumelies ! 
As knowing himselfe, advanced in a height 
Where injury cannot reach him, nor aspersion 
Touch him with foyle ! 

These parallels, as well as the reference to The New 
Inn, show that Jonson had in mind Lovel's oration on 



Sources xxiii 

valor when writing this scene of The Magnetic Lady. 
The difference between the two situations as a whole is 
that the speech of Lovel is declamatory, and expresses 
a noble idealism, while the discussion in this play, since 
it is participated in by several speakers, is more dramatic 
— is humorous and satiric, as well as reflective. The 
serious, reflective element is almost identical with that 
in The New Inn, which has been traced by Dr. Tennant 
to the third book of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics.^ 
Tennant also points out that the same ideas may be found 
in Plato's Protagoras and Laches. 

III. OTHER CLASSICAL BORROWINGS 

Jonson's debt to other classical authors is small in 
The Magnetic Lady. His classical borrowings, most of 
which were pointed out in a general way by Gifford, are 
recorded in the notes. These borrowings are all confined 
to brief passages. Counting references to characters of 
Latin literature, as well as quotations and allusions, the 
authors and the number of references to each are as follows : 
Plautus, 5 ; Terence, 4 ; Horace, 3 ; Juvenal, 2 ; Cicero, 2 ; 
Aristophanes, i ; Martial, i ; and Claudian, i. The in- 
fluence of Horace is more apparent in the critical ideas 
which Jonson expounds in the choruses, but these are 
so thoroughly assimilated as to preclude literary al- 
lusion. 

IV. JONSON'S EARLIER PLAYS 

The chief source upon which Jonson drew in writing 
The Magnetic Lady was material treated in his earlier 
plays. His general indebtedness to these has been indi- 
cated in the remarks on the prototypes of the characters. 
At the time of writing this play he was bedridden ; had lost 

* Edition of The New Inn, Introduction, pp. xlix— Ivi. 



xxiv Introduction 

that touch with contemporary affairs that might have 
furnished him with new material ; and was dependent 
upon his imagination, working over the materials afforded 
by his memory. Jonson's detailed indebtedness to his 
earlier plays, the allusions, and the repetitions of phrases 
and ideas, are carefully considered in the explanatory 
notes. 



V. THE RELATION OF THE MAGNETIC LADY 

TO ELIZABETHAN AND JACOBEAN SATIRE AND 

THE SATIRIC DRAMA 

Although Jonson was the first great English satirist to 
select the drama as the vehicle for his invective, he had 
a formidable list of predecessors and contemporaries in 
satiric character-drawing. We are accustomed to consider 
the age of Elizabeth as one of the characteristic eras 
of Romanticism, and predominantly it was ; but a nearer 
approach will also discover its great complexity. Gas- 
coigne wrote The Steele Glas as early as 1576. Formal 
satire came distinctly into fashion in the last decade of 
the sixteenth century : Alden has discussed a list of 
satirists who wrote between 1593 and 1600.^ — Donne, 
Lodge, Hall, Marston, Guilpin, T. M., the author of 
Micro-Cynicon, Turner, and Rowlands. After this period 
formal satire declined, until in 1613 it revived, and flou- 
rished for another decade. ^ This temporary blank is 
probably due, as Alden believes, partly to the efforts of 
the authorities to suppress satirical literature, and 
partly to the rise of the satirical drama. 

In the drama, the last decade of the sixteenth century 
was distinctly an age of Romanticism, but by 1600 a 

1 The Rise of Formal Satire in England under Classical Influence. 

2 Alden, pp. 238—9. 



Sources xxv 

change became apparent. The exuberance of imagina- 
tion began to dechne, and the national temper seems to 
have grown more serious and reflective. This is evidenced 
in part by the rise of Puritanism. So, too, it is exhibited 
in the drama. Most of the plays from 1600 to 1608 or 
1609 were tragedies, or realistic or satiric comedies.^ 
Within these years Shakespeare wrote his great tragedies, 
and Jonson his best comedies. The decade may be called 
the serious period of the national drama. But after the 
retirement of Shakespeare, and the rise of the vogue 
of Beaumont and Fletcher, the influence of the drama 
narrowed. The better element of the middle class stayed 
away more and more ; and the audience, as described in 
the inductions to Bartholomew Fair and The Magnetic 
Lady, seems to have consisted in large part of courtiers 
and people of fashion, and the rabble. From Bartholo- 
mew Fair to The Staple of News, Jonson was busy on the 
production of masques ; and when he again turned to the 
drama, his own powers had declined, and the form in which 
he chose to write had gone out of vogue. But in spite of 
his only partial success, he continued the tradition of the 
serious drama ; and while in the hands of others the Eng- 
lish stage had degenerated into a form of sensational enter- 
tainment, he exposed and satirized in comedy the same 
abuses that were attacked by the satirists and the 
Puritans. 

An enumeration of the objects of Jonson's satire in 
The Magnetic Lady will give an idea of its scope. Under 
the head of moral defects occur the following : avarice, 
usury, ambition, fortune-hunting, flattery, abuse of 
guardianship, hypocrisy, bribery, lust, gluttony, super- 
stition, affectation, slander, cowardice, stupidity. The 
fashions and institutions satirized are : extravagance in 

^ Thorndike, The Influence of Beaumont and Fletcher upon Shak- 
spere, chap. 6. 



xxvi Introduction 

clothes, belief in astrology, the monopoly-system, and 
the vogue of dueling. Some of these, of coiu-se, are 
merely touched upon. Among the classes satirized are 
the politician, the money-lender, the lawyer, the courtier, 
the physician, and the clergyman. 

The conventional character of the types and objects 
satirized in The Magnetic Lady may be seen by a cursory 
examination of the satiric character-drawing and satiric 
drama of the early seventeenth century. In the character- 
writing of Joseph Hall (1597— 1608), Sir Thomas Over- 
bury (1614), and John Earle (1628), we find portrayed 
characters that are obviously analogues to those in 
The Magnetic Lady — courtier, flatterer, soldier, tailor, 
Puritan, mere common lawyer, almanac-maker, hypo- 
crite, precisian, vain-glorious coward in command, roaring 
boy, domestic chaplain, witless gallant, mere dull physi- 
cian, alderman, idle gallant, she-precise-hypocritc, hand- 
some hostess, affected man, coward, sordid rich man, etc. 
Also in the drama, especially that of the first decade of 
the seventeenth century, are found the same general 
types of character satirized by Jonson. The works of 
Middleton, especially, furnish interesting parallels ; and 
the same types are found in Marston, Dekker, and the 
earlier work of Beaumont and Fletcher. By glancing 
through the list of dramatis personce of these plays, one 
can make out a long list of such personages : Lucre, a rich 
uncle ; Hoard ; Moneylove ; Glister, a doctor of physic ; 
Purge, an apothecary ; gallants ; Gallipot, an apothecary ; 
promoters ; midwife, nurses, Puritans, and other gossips ; 
Knavesby, a lawyer ; a land-captain ; a sea-captain ; 
Securitie, a usurer ; Bramble, a lawyer ; Morecraft, a 
usurer, etc., etc. 

This brief review, and the remarks on the prototypes of 
the characters, show the conventional character of Jon- 
son's satire. The customs and classes held up to ridicule 



Extracts from the Critics xxvii 

or moral reprobation in this, as well as his earlier comedies, 
are the regular objects of Elizabethan and Jacobean for- 
mal satire and the satiric drama. Jonson's distinction 
consists in vividness, convincingness, and consistency of 
character-portrayal ; in reflective comment, humor, dic- 
tion, literary allusion, and energy of treatment. While 
it is not the purpose of this work to consider how far Jon- 
son's satire is a realistic reflection of the times, I may re- 
mark in passing that it deals with some abuses which were 
of a purely temporary or transitory nature. A large pro- 
portion of the moral vices attacked — avarice, ambition, 
flattery, hypocrisy, lust, gluttony, cowardice, stupidity 
— are the universal evils of human nature ; but the 
office of state-informer, the extravagance of court- 
costume, the belief in astrology and alchemy, the mono- 
poly-system, the vogue of dueling, and the ignorance and 
worldliness of clergymen and physicians, were the peculiar 
evils of the time. Volpone is a type of avarice, one of the 
evil passions of human nature. Bobadill is a type of 
the disbanded soldier, living by his wits, who infested 
the capital at a certain period of its history. In other 
words, Jonson was both a classical satirist and an 
English realist. 



F. Extracts from the Critics 

Ward 1 : After The New Inn Jonson produced two 
further comedies, of which the earlier, The Magnetic Lady 
or Humours Reconciled, acted, as it would appear, under 
the latter title, in 1633, seems to have not been wholly 
unsuccessful. Yet in it we have in truth nothing more 
than the remnants of Ben Jonson — dry leaves from a 
nosegay of brighter days. The conception of the piece 

^ Hist. Eng. Dram. Lit. 2. 377—8, 



xxviii Introduction 

is that of assembling a variety of characters, each disting- 
uished by its own ' humour,' round the centre supphed by 
the dramatic action ; but there is nothing magnetic about 
the lady except the money of her niece, and the humours 
of the characters in general are described rather than 
illustrated by the course of the play. In its execution 
the marks of old age are apparent. Gifford praises the 
character of Polish, the she-parasite of Lady Loadstone, 
as an unequalled dramatic picture of the ' gossiping toad- 
eater ' ; at all events, this personage is more vigorously 
drawn than the rest of the Intimes of the Magnetic Lady. 
The author's undertaking to ' reconcile ' the humours con- 
trasted with one another is indeed carried out in part, but 
very perfunctorily. Altogether the comedy is by no 
means devoid of ingenuity ; but on the other hand it can- 
not be pronounced free from coarseness. 

Swinburne ^ : The higher genius of Ben Jonson as 
a comic poet was yet once more to show itself in one 
brilliant flash of parting splendour before its approaching 
sunset. No other of his works would seem to have met 
with such all but universal neglect as The Magnetic Lady ; 
I do not remember to have ever seen it quoted or referred 
to, except once by Dryden, who in his Essay of Dramatic 
Poesy cites from it an example of narrative substituted for 
action, ' where one comes out from dinner, and relates 
the quarrels and discorders of it, to save the undecent 
appearance of them on the stage, and to abbreviate the 
story.' And yet any competent spectator of its opening 
scenes must have felt a keen satisfaction at the apparent 
revival of comic power and renewal of the dramatic 
instinct so lamentably enfeebled and eclipsed on the last 
occasion of a new play from the same hand. The first act 
is full of brilliant satirical description and humorous ana- 
lysis of humours : the commentator Compass, to whom 

^ Study of Ben Jonson, pp. 81—3. 



Extracts from the Critics xxix 

we owe these masterly summaries of character, is an 
excellent counterpart of that ' reasonable man ' who so 
constantly reappears on the stage of Moliere to correct 
with his ridicule or control by his influence the extravagant 
or erratic tendencies of his associates. Very few examples 
of Jonson's grave and deliberate humour are finer than 
the ironical counsel given by Compass to the courtly 
fop whom he dissuades from challenging the soldier who 
has insulted him, on the ground that the soldier 

has killed so many 
As it is ten one to one his turn is next ; 
You never fought with any, less, slew any ; 
And therefore have the (fairer) hopes before you. 

The rest of the speech, with all that follows to the close 
of the scene, is no less ripe and rich in sedate and ingenious 
irony. There is no less admirable humour in the previous 
discourse of the usurer in praise of wealth — especially as 
being the only real test of a man's character : 

For, be he rich, he straight with evidence knows 

Whether he have any compassion 

Or inclination unto virtue, or no: 

Where the poor knave erroneously believes 

If he were rich he would build churches, or 

Do such mad things. 

Most of the characters are naturally and vigorously drawn 
in outline or in profile : Dame Polish is a figure well worthy 
the cordial and lavish commendation of Gifford : and the 
action is not only original and ingenious, but duiing the 
first four acts at any rate harmonious and amusing. The 
fifth act seems to me somewhat weaker ; but the interludes 
are full of spirit, good humour, and good sense, 

Aronstein ^ : Das ist die nicht gerade sehr erfreuliche 
Handlung, die, wenn auch nicht ohne ermiidende Langen 

* Ben Jonson, pp, 225—6. 



XXX Introduction 

und Episoden, doch wahrend der ersten vier Akte ziem- 
lich lebhaft fortschreitet, im fiinften Akte allerdings sich 
nur miihsam ihrem Ende zuschleppt. 

Die Charaktere sind zum Teil in der Anlage nicht iibel. 
Jonsons umfassende Menschenkenntnis und scharfe Be- 
obachtungsgabe verleugnen sich auch hier nicht. Gifford 
lobt nicht mit Unrecht den Charakter der Frau PoHsh, 
die er ,,die vollkommenste Darstellung einer geschwatzigen 
Schmarotzerin nennt, deren die enghsche Biihne sich 
riihmen kann." Swinburne sieht iiberhaupt in diesem 
Stiicke ein Wiederaufleben der komischen Kraft Ben 
Jonsons und findet besonders den Charakter des Compass 
sehr gelungen, den er ein ausgezeichnetes Gegenstiick zu 
dem Raisonneur bei Mohere nennt. In Wirkhchkeit 
fehlt alien diesen Charakteren, ob der Dichter sich nun 
auf dichterische Vorbilder stiitzt, wie in dem Arzt und 
Geistlichen, die Chaucers Frere und Physician in den 
Canterbury- Geschicht en nachgeahmt sind, oder ob er aus 
eigener Beobachtung schopft, die Frische, der Humor, 
das Leben. Das Skelett und die ausseren Umrisse sind 
scharf gesehen, aber die schopferische Phantasie vermag 
diesen nicht mehr Leben einzuhauchen. Nur die Reflexion 
und Satire, die lehrhafte Absichtlichkeit sind geblieben. 
So lost denn gerade dieses Stiick, dessen Bau den alten 
Theaterpraktiker und dessen scharfe und geistvolle 
Sprache den hochgebildeten, denkenden Dichter nicht 
verleugnen, bei dem Leser und Verehrer Jonsons mehr wie 
eins der friiheren traurig-pathetische Gefiihle aus. Die 
alte dramatische Kraft ist erloschen, und nur unter dem 
Zwange ausserer Not kehrt der alte und kranke Dichter 
zur Biihne zuriick, ohne doch etwas anderes als ein Zerr- 
bild seiner friiheren Leistungen vollbringen zu konnen. 

Castelain ^ : Ce qu'il faut encore louer dans cette 
comedie, comme dans celle qui precede, c'est la fagon 

^ Ben Jonson, pp. 443—4. 



Extracts from the Critics xxxi 

dont elle est ecrite. Le style, qui garde quand il faut sa 
vigueur d'autrefois, s'est assoupli, semble-t-il, comme sous 
r influence aimable de Fletcher, en m^me temps que 
I'humeur du poete gagnait en douceur, en gaiete. On en 
pourra juger par les quelques portraits qui remplissent 
le premier acte ; nous citerons egalement un morceau plus 
considerable, quoique les grands discours soient assez peu 
nombreux dans cette piece et que I'auteur, avec un souci 
du mouvement dramatique qu'il n'a pas toujours montre, 
ait eu soin de les couper par de courtes repliques des 
interlocuteurs. C'est I'eloge de la richesse que fait Sir 
Moth, le vieil avare, devant Compass et quelques autres. 
Jonson a su renouveler ce lieu commun par d'heureux 
traits : celui des eglises est une vraie trouvaille ; il faudrait 
changer le mot suivant les siecles, mais il est d'application 
etemelle. On peut citer encore un autre morceau d'une 
facture non moins admirable et non moins jolie ; d'une 
portee moins generale, mais plein de details amusants. 
C'est Compass qui veut reconforter Sir Diaphanous, 
lequel hesite fort a se battre avec le terrible Ironside ; et 
il lui tient un beau discours, plein de raisons specieuses et 
inattendues. Sans doute, on ne saurait pretendre qu'il 
y ait dans cette scene toute la verve cocasse, toute la 
fantaisie verbale qu'y auraient mises Regnard ou Ban- 
ville ; mais il y a des traits qu'ils auraient voulu trouver, 
j'en suis sur, d'autres qu'ils n'auraient peut-etre pas 
inventes. Et si de pareils morceaux font exception dans 
I'oeuvre de Jonson, cela meme etait une raison pour les 
signaler. En somme, c'est encore a nos comedies du 
temps de Louis XIII que cette nouvelle piece fait surtout 
songer, L'action, un peu plus animee que dans la pre- 
cedente, n'y est pas encore tres mouvementee, si Ton 
fait abstraction des divers episodes du cinquieme acte ; 
et c'est precisement un des caracteres de notre comedie 
avant Moliere, comme chez lui du reste et apres lui, que 



xxxii Introduction 

rintrigue y soit reduite en general au strict necessaire. 
Cette intrigue, il est vrai, a un caractere assez vulgaire, 
comme il arrive souvent dans la comedie anglaise, alors 
et ton jours ; et Ton n'y verra pas ces galantes querelles 
d'amoureux qui font comme partie integrante de la 
comedie a la frangaise. Mais on y trouve d'amusantes 
peintures de moeurs, plus ou moins bien reliees a 1' action, 
et des morceaux de bravoure empreints d'une certaine 
verve spirituelle : ce sont la les merites accoutumes de 
notre ecole de 1630. Jonson a plus de force et moins 
d'elegance ; mais sa comedie semble taillee sur le m^me 
patron que les notres. Comme la plupart de celles-ci, 
ce n'est pas un chef-d'oeuvre ; elle est meme ennuyeuse 
d'ensemble, mais beaucoup de details en sont amusants ; 
on la lit avec un peu de peine, on la relit avec plaisir. 
En la comparant avec la precedente, nous serions plus 
embarrasses que M. Swinburne pour declarer notre 
preference : inegales toutes deux, elles sont tres differentes 
I'une de I'autre. Contentons-nous d'admirer une fois 
de plus chez le vieux Ben la variete du talent. 

Thorndike ^ : The Magnetick Lady : or Humors Re- 
conciVd attempted a continuation and conclusion of 
the series of comedies of humours begun thirty-five years 
before. A marriageable young niece of the magnetic 
lady is constituted the ' centre attractive, to draw thither 
a diversity of guests, all persons of different humours, to 
make up his (the author's) perimeter.' This plan is 
carried out in a half-hearted way, though with the usual 
elaborate attention to details, and explanatory inter- 
mezzos. But, while the acts conform to the laws of 
protasis, epitasis and catastasis, there is no life or wit. 

1 ' Ben Jonson,' in The Cambrigde History of English Literature 
6. 28-9. 



Critical Estimate xxxiii 

G. Critical Estimate 

In attempting a critical estimate of The Magnetic Lady, 
the first step might profitably be a classification. The 
drama in general one may divide rather abstractly into 
that which emphasizes plot, action, or events : that which 
stresses the delineation of character ; and that which 
subordinates these elements to dialogue. The drama 
which is concerned primarily with characterization may 
represent its characters through events, or through dia- 
logue, or through both. But as all significant dramatic 
literature has to do largely with problems of character- 
ization, we may consider exclusively these two classes — 
that which represents character mainly through action, 
and that which represents it chiefly through speech. 

Of these two classes. The Magnetic Lady belongs de- 
cidedly to the second. Anything in the nature of theat- 
rical sensation is suppressed, or is related by narrative. 
Thus in Act 3, the quarrels and disorders of the dinner 
are merely related ; the fainting of Placentia and of Sir 
Moth Interest take place off the stage ; and in Act 5, 
scene 10, the incident of the usurer's falling into the well 
is also narrated. The whole of Act i is taken up with 
exposition ; the only suggestion of a forward movement 
of events being the report that Placentia is ill. 

The Magnitic Lady, then, maybe classified as a comedy 
of which the subject-matter is contemporary life; the 
purpose, moral ; and the method followed, the re- 
presentation of character through speech. But while 
the species of comedy which portrays character through 
dialogue is recognized as a legitimate one, a too great 
tendency toward monologue and description of character 
is outside the scope of drama. In this respect, The 
Magnetic Lady is somewhat at fault. Three of the clev- 
erest passages of the play — Interest's long argument for 



xxxiv Introduction 

the virtue of wealth (Act 2, scene 6), Compass' speeches 
dissuading Silkworm from a duel (Act 3, scene 3), and 
the discussion of valor (Act 3, scene 5) — are in the form 
of monologues or of long speeches by one personage, 
interspersed with the comments of others. So, too, the 
characterization, especially in Act i, is in the form of 
description. Compass' speeches in this act are largely 
a series of character-sketches. He portrays the parson, 
the doctor, the soldier, the courtier, the lawyer, the 
usurer, and the politician. After the first act, when the 
action is under way, and there is interplay of character 
upon character and upon the central situation, the 
speeches are more properly dramatic. As a whole, 
however, the play is on the border between declamatory 
description of character and dramatic characterization. 

The characters as portrayed I have already considered. 
As a group they are the Jonsonian types, each person set 
forth with great distinctness of detail and clearness of 
outline. Excepting a few of Jonson's earlier creations 
— Bobadill, Volpone, Mosca, Subtle, Tucca, and Sir 
Epicure Mammon — I cannot see but that these are about 
as successful as the majority of the personages of his 
earlier plays. Polish is complex enough to be considered 
an individual ; and the midwife, Chair, is a type depicted 
with unusual vividness. 

But the play cannot be properly appreciated without 
a full comprehension of its wit and humor. And this 
element is the one which has so far received the least 
amount of critical notice. Fashions in social pleasantry 
and badinage are, of all expressions of intellectual life, 
probably, the most transitory. Types of character are 
universal, and actions are readily comprehensible, so 
that Shakespeare's tragedies still retain much of their 
former appeal ; but the euphuism of Lyly, the wit of 
Touchstone, and the smart social conversation of Con- 



Critical Estimate xxxv 

greve's Way of the World and Love for Love, are now mainly 
of historical interest. Punning, another form of wit 
which was very popular in the time of Jonson, is now 
considered beneath the interest of cultivated people. 
This element of intellectual byplay in The Magnetic 
Lady, though often coarse and trivial enough when judged 
by the standard of present taste, must have furnished an 
element of theatrical appeal to a Jacobean audience, 
and probably accounts in part for the not altogether 
unfavorable reception of the play. But not only have 
fashions in witty conversation gone out of vogue, but 
the language has also changed. A survey of the obsolete 
and archaic meanings in the glossary will explain why a 
large part of the witty observations are not apparent 
at the first reading. And Jonson's immense vocabulary, 
his habit of punning, and his general verbal ingenuity, 
make him more obscure to us than are his other contem- 
poraries. For illustrations of wit, punning, and inten- 
tional ambiguity, reference should be made to the 
explanatory notes. 

Yet the present rather low estimate of the play, al- 
though probably in part the result of the remoteness of 
the life represented, and the obscurity caused by the 
changes of language, is partly also due to inherent defects. 
The changes in manners and customs, in the whole 
outer civilization, which make against the present 
interest of the play, operate, of course, as effectively 
against the other plays of Jonson. But the lack of 
concentration upon one central satiric motive, such as 
is found in Volpone and The Alchemist, makes impossible 
any such summation of dramatic impression as is found 
in those plays. Then the vitality and intensity of style, 
mood, and handling that are found in the earlier master- 
pieces are not to be expected in the work of a bedridden 
poet. Perhaps, too, the fact that The Magnetic Lady 



xxxvi Introduction 

is one of the latest of Jonson's works, and was preceded 
by plays of much higher quality, has caused few 
scholars to put the time and study on the play which are 
necessary to a more favorable estimate. Certain of the 
characteristic qualities of Elizabethan drama — charm, 
idealism, and poetic atmosphere — are not found in this 
play ; but their absence is due to the nature of the type 
in which Jonson chose to work ; it no more makes against 
the excellence of a play in its kind than the absence of 
realism and satire makes mihtates the literary value of 
a romance. 

In summary, the play has its defects and its qualities. 
In its use of monologues and long speeches, and its sub- 
stitution of description for representation of character, 
it is dramatically defective ; but its clearness and con- 
sistency of character-portrayal, its wit, humor, satire, 
and sound morality may be considered as positive qua- 
lities. And these considerations should be carefully 
weighed before the play is dismissed as merely one of 
Jonson's ' dotages.' 



THE MAGNETIC LADY 

OR 

Humors Reconciled 
TEXT 



EDITOR'S NOTE 

The text here adopted is that of the original foHo 
edition of 1640. The particular impression adopted is 
that of a copy of the 1640 edition in the possession of 
Professor J. M. Berdan, of Yale University. An effort 
has been made to reproduce all the peculiarities of the 
original. Of the subsequent editions, only such variants 
have been noted as ma^^ be considered emendations, or 
otherwise significant. 

1692 = The third folio, 1692. 

1716 = Edition of 1716 (1717). 

W = Whalley's edition, 1756. 

G = Gifford's edition, 1816. 

1640 Y = The copy of the 1640 folio in the Yale Uni- 
versity Library. 

SD = Stage-direction at the beginning of a scene, 

f = and all later editions. 



THE 

MAGNETICK 

LADY 

HVMORS 

RECONCILD. 



A COMEDYcompofed 

'By 

Ben: Iohnson. 

Um lapides fms ardor agit ferrutmit tenetur , 
Jlkabris. Claud, dc Magnet* 



L ONDON, 

Printed M. CD. XL. 



THE SCENE, 
LONDON. 



The 

Lady Loadftone, 

Mrs. Polifh, 

Mrs. Placentia, 

Pleafance, 

Mrs. Keepe, 

Mother Chaire, 

Mr Compaffe, 

Captaine Ironfide, 

Parson Palate, 

Doctor Rut, 

Tim Item, 

Sir Diaph Silkworm, 

Mr. Pradife, 

Sir Moath Intereft, 

Mr. Bias, 

Mr. Needle, 



Perfons that act. 

The Magnetick Lady. 

Her Golfip, and fhe-Parafite. 

Her Neice. 

Her Waiting- woman. 

The Neices Nourfe. 

The Midwife. 

A Scholler, Mathematick. 

A Souldier. 

Prelate of the Parifh. 

Phyfician to the houfe. 

His Apothecary. 

A Courtier. 

A Lawyer. 

An Vlurer, or Money-baud. 

A Vi-poHtique, or Sub-fecretary. 

The Ladies Steward, and Taylor. 



C H O R V S by way of Induction. 

The Perjons that act.] Dramatis Personse. 1716, f Sir 

Diaph'] Sir Diaphanous W, f Captaine Ironjide, A Souldier] 

Captain Ironside, his brother, a soldier. G Servant to Moth, 

Serjeants, &c. G 

Chorus . . . Induction] The Chorus (Probee, Damplay, and 
Boy of the house) by way of Induction. G G changes order of 

dramatis personse, putting men first, women after. 



THE 
INDVCTION ; 

or, 
CHORUS. 



Two Gentlemen enfring upon the Stage. 

Mr. Probee and Mr- Damplay. 

A Boy of the houfe, 
meets them. 

Boy. What doe you lack, Gentlemen ? what is't you 
lack ? any fine Phanfies, Figures, Humors, Characters, 
Idaeas, Definitions of Lords, and Ladies ? Waiting- 
women, Parafites, Knights, Captaines, Courtiers, Law- 
yers ? what do you lack ? 

Pro. A pretty prompt Boy for the Poetique Shop. 

Dam. And a bold ! where's one o' your Mafters, 
Sirrah, the Poet ? 

Boy. Which of 'hem ? Sir wee have divers that 
drive that trade, now : Poets, Poet'accios, Poetafters, lo 
Poetito's — 

Dam. And all Haberdafhers of fmall wit, I pre- 
fume: wee would fpeake with the Poet o' the day. Boy. 

Boy. Sir, hee is not here. But, I have the dominion 
of the Shop, for this time, under him, and can fhew you 15 
all the variety the Stage will afford for the prefent. 

Pro. Therein you will expreffe your owne good 
parts. Boy. 

Two . . . them.] The Stage. Enter Master Probee and Master 
Damplay, met by a Boy of the house. G 



10 The Magnetic Lady [ind. 

Dam. And tye us two, to you, for the gentle office. 
20 Pro. Wee are a paire of publique perfons (this Gentle- 
man, and my felfe) that are lent, thus coupled unto you 
upon ftate-bulines. 

Boy. It concernes but the ftate of the Stage I hope ! 

Dam. O, you fhall know that by degrees, Boy. No 
25 man leaps into a bufines of ftate, without fourding firft 
the ftate of the bufines. 

Pro. Wee are fent unto you, indeed from the people. 

Boy. The people ! which fide of the people ? 

Dam. The Venifon fide, if you know it. Boy. 
30 Boy. That's the left fide. I had rather they had 
beene the right. 

Pro. So they are. Not the Fceces, or grounds of 
your people, that fit in the oblique caves and wedges 
of your houfe, your finfull fixe-penny Mechanicks — 
35 Dam. But the better, and braver fort of your people ! 
Plufh and Velvet-outfides ! that ftick your houfe round 
like fo many eminences — 

Boy. Of clothes, not underftandings ? They are at 
pawne. Well, I take these as a part of your people 
40 though ; what bring you to me from thefe people ? 

Dam. You have heard. Boy, the ancient Poets had 
it in their purpofe, ftill to pleafe this people. 

Pro. I, their chief e aime was — 

Dam. Populo ut placerent : (if hee underftands fo 
45 much.) 

Boy. Quas fecijjent fabulas.) I underftand that, 
fin' I learn'd Terence, i' the third forme at Westminfter : 
go on Sir. 

Pro. Now, thefe people have imployed us to you, in 
5" all their names, to intreat an excellent Play from you. 

Dam. For they have had very meane ones, from this 
fhop of late, the Stage as you call it. 

Boy. Troth, Gentlemen, I have no wares, which I 



IND.] The Magnetic Lady ii 

daxe thruft upon the people with praife. But this, fuch 
as it is, I will venter with your people, your gay gallant ss 
people : lo as you, againe, will undertake for them, that 
they fhall know a good Play when they heare it ; and will 
have the conlcience, and ingenuity befide, to confelfe it. 

Proh. Wee'U palfe our words for that : you fhall have 
a brace of us to ingage our felves. 6° 

Boy. You'l tender your names. Gentlemen, to our 
booke then ? 

Dam. Yes, here's Mr. Probee ; A man of moft power- 
full fpeech, and parts to perfwade. 

Pro. And M"". Dampiay, will make good all he under- 65 
takes. 

Boy. Good Mr. Probee, and Mr. Dampiay ! I like 
your fecurities : whence doe you write your felves ? 

Pro. Of London, Gentlemen : but Knights brothers, 
and Knights friends, I affure you. 70 

Dam. And Knights fellow's too. Every Poet writes 
Squire now. 

Boy. You are good names ! very good men, both of 
you ! I accept you. 

Dam. And what is the Title of your Play, heie ? 75 
The Magnetick Lady ? 

Boy. Yes, Sir, an attractive title the Author has 
given it. 

Pro. A Magnete, I warrant you. 

Dam. O, no, from Magnus, Magna, Magnum. so 

Boy. This Gentleman, hath found the true magni- 
tude — 

Dam. Of his portall, or entry to the worke, according 
to Vitruvius. 

Boy. Sir all our worke is done without a Portall— or 85 
Vitruvius. In Foro, as a true Comcedy fhould bee. And 
what is conceald within, is brought out, and made prefent 
by report. 



12 The Magnetic Lady [iND. 

Dam. Wee lee not that alwayes obferv'd, by your 
90 Authors of these times : or Icarce any other. 

Boy. Where it is not at all knowne, how fhould it be 
obferv'd ? The moft of thofe your people call Authors, 
never dreamt of any Decorum, or what was proper in the 
Scene ; but grope at it, i' the darke, and feele, or fumble 
95 for it ; I fpeake it, both with their leave, and the leave 
o' your people. 

Dam. But, why Humors reconcil'd ? I would faine 
know ? 

Boy. I can fatisfie you there, too : if you will. But, 
100 perhaps you defire not to be fatisfied. 

Dam. No ? why fhould you conceive fo, Boy ? 
Boy. My conceit is not ripe, yet : He tell you that 
anon. The Author, beginning his ftudies of this kind, 
with every man in his Humour ; and after, every man out 
"s of his Humour ; and fince, continuing in all his Playes, 
efpecially those of the Comtek thred, whereof the New-Inne 
was the laft, fome recent humours ftill, or manners of 
men, that went along with the times, finding himfelfe now 
neare the clofe, or fhutting up of his Circle, hath phant'fied 
"° to himfelfe, in IdcBa, this Magnetick Miftris. A Lady 
a brave bountif ull Houfe-keeper, and a vertuous Widow : 
who having a young Neice, ripe for a man and marria- 
geable, hee makes that his Center attractive, to draw 
thither a diverfity of Guefts, all perfons of different 
"5 humours to make up his Perimiter. And this he hath 
call'd Humors reconcil'd. 

Pro. A bold undertaking! and farre greater, then 

the reconciliation of both Churches, the quarrell be- 

tweene humours having beene much the ancienter, and, 

120 in my poore opinion, the root of all Schifme, and Faction, 

both in Church and Common-wealth. 

Boy. Such is the opinion of many wife men, that meet 
at this fhop ftill ; but how hee will fpeed in it, wee cannot 



IND.] The Magnetic Lady 13 

tell, and hee himfelfe (it feems) leffe cares. For hee will 
not be intreated by us, to give it a Prologue. He has ^^s 
loft too much that way already, hee fayes. Hee will 
not woo the gentile ignorance To much. But careleffe 
of all vulgar cenfure, as not depending on common appro- 
bation, hee is confident it fhall fuper-pleafe judicious 
Spectators, and to them he leaves it to worke, with the ^30 
reft by example, or otherwife. 

Dam. Hee may be deceived in that, Boy : Few follow 
examples now, efpecially, if they be good. 

Boy. The Play is ready to begin. Gentlemen, I tell 
you, left you might defraud the expectation of the ^35 
people, for whom you are Delegates ! Pleafe you take 
a couple of Seates, and plant your felves, here, as neere 
my ftanding as you can : Fly everything (you fee) to 
the marke, and cenfure it ; freely. So, you interrupt 
not the Series, or thred of the Argument, to breake or mo 
pucker it, with unneceffary queftions. For, I muf t tell you, 
(not out of mine own Dicfamen, but the Authors) A good 
Play, is like a skeene of filke: which, if you take by the 
right end, you may wind off, at pleafure, on the bottome, 
or card of your difcourfe, in a tale, or fo ; how you will : ms 
But if you light on the wrong end, you will pull all into 
a knot, or elfe-lock ; which nothing but the fheers, or 
a candle will undoe, or feparate. 

Dam. Stay ! who be thefe, I pray you ? 

Boy. Becaufe it is your firft queftion, and (thefe 150 
be the prime perfons) it would in civility require an 
anfwer : but I have heard the Poet affirme, that to be 
the moft unlucky Scene in a Play, which needs an Inter- 
preter ; efpecially, when the Auditory are awake : and 
fuch are you, hee prefumes. Ergo. 15s 

130—1 and . . . otherwife] and to them he leaves it to work 
with the rest, by Example or otherwise. 1692, f 



B2 



THE 

MAGNETICK 

LADY: 

or, 

HUMORS 
RECONCILED. 



Act L Scene L 

Compaffe, Ironfide. 
Om. Welcome good Captaine Ironfide, and brother ; 



C 



You fhall along with me, I'm lodg'd hard by. 
Here at a noble Ladies houfe i' th' ftreet, 
The Lady Loadstones (one will bid us welcome) 
Where there are Gentlewomen, and male Guefts, s 

Of feverall humors, cariage, conltitution. 
Profession too : but fo diametrall 
One to another, and fo much oppos'd, 
As if I can but hold them all together, 
And draw 'hem to a fufferance of themfelves, " 

But till the Diffolution of the Dinner ; 
I fhall have just occafion to beleeve 
My wit is magifteriall ; and our felves 
Take infinite deUght, i' the fucceffe. 

Iro. Troth, brother Compasse, you fhall pardon me ; 's 
I love not fo to multiply acquaintance 
At a meales coft, 'twill take off o' my freedome 
So much : or bind me to the leaft obfervance. 



i6 The Magnetic Lady [act i 

Com. Why Ironfide, you know I am a Scholler, 

2° And part a Souldier ; I have beene imployed, 
By fome the greateft Statef-men o* the kmgdome, 
Thefe many yeares : and in my time convers'd 
With lundry humors, fuiting fo my lelfe 
To company, as honeft men, and knaves, 

25 Good-fellowes, Hypocrites, all forts of people. 
Though never fo divided in themfelves, 
Have ftudied to agree ftill in the ufage. 
And handling of me (which hath been faire too). 
Iro. Sir I confeffe you to be one well read 

3° In men, and manners ; and that, ufually, 
The moft ungovern'd perfons, you being prefent. 
Rather fubject themfelves unto your cenfure. 
Then give you leaft occafion of diftafte. 
By making you the fubject of their mirth : 

35 But (to deale plainely with you, as a brother) 
When ever I diftruft i' my owne valour : 
He never beare me on anothers wit, 
Or offer to bring off, or fave my felfe 
On the opinion of your Judgement, gravitie, 

4° Difcretion, or what elfe. But (being away) 

You' are fure to have leffe-wit-worke, gentle brother. 
My humour being as ftubborne, as the reft, 
And as unmannageable. Com. You doe miftake 
My Caract of your friendfhip, all this while ! 

45 Or at what rate I reckon your affiftance 

Knowing by long experience, to fuch Animals, 
Halfe-hearted Creatures, as thefe are, your Foxe, there, 
Vnkenneld with a Cholerick, ghaftly afpect. 
Or two or three comminatory Termes, 

so Would run their feares to any hole of fhelter. 
Worth a dayes laughter ! I am for the fport : 
For nothing elfe. Iro. But, brother, I ha' feene 
A Coward, meeting with a man as valiant 



sc. l] The Magnetic Lady 17 

As our St. George (not knowing him to be fuch, 

Or having leaft opinion that hee was fo) 55 

Set to him roundly, I, and fwindge him foundly : 

And i' the vertue of that errour, having 

Once overcome, refolv'd for ever after 

To erre ; and thinke no perfon, nor no creature 

More vahant then himfelfe. Com. I thinke that too. ^o 

But, Brother, (could I over intreat you) 

I have fome httle plot upon the reft 

If you would be contented, to endure 

A Hiding reprehenfion, at my hands, 

To heare your felfe, or your profeffion glanc'd at 65 

In a few fleighting termes : It would beget 

Me fuch a maine Authority, o' the by : 

And doe your felfe no dif -repute at all ! 

Iro. Compaffe, I know that univerfall caufes 
In nature produce nothing ; but as meeting 70 

Particular caufes, to determine thofe. 
And fpecifie their acts. This is a piece 
Of Oxford Science, ftaies with me ere fince 
I left that place ; and I have often found 
The truth thereof, in my private paffions : 75 

For I doe never feele my felfe perturb'd 
With any generall words 'gainft my profeffion, 
Vnleffe by fome fmart ftroke upon my felfe 
They doe awake, and ftirre me : Elfe, to wife 
And well experienc'd men, words doe but fignifie ; ^o 

They have no power ; fave with dull Grammarians, 
Whofe foules are nought, but a Syntaxis of them. 

Com. Here comes om Parfon, Parfon Palate here 
A venerable youth ! I muft falute him. 
And a great Gierke! hee's going to the Ladies, ^^ 

And though you fee him thus, without his Cope, 

75 my private] my [own] private. G 80 but] not W, f 



i8 The Magnetic Lady [act i 

I dare affure you, hee's our Parifh Pope! 
God lave my reverend Clergy, Parfon Palate. 



Act I. Scene II. 

Palate, Compa/fe, Ironfide. 

Pal. The witty Mr. Compaf/e ! how is't, with you ? 
Com. My Lady ftaies for you, and for your Councell, 
Touching her Neice Mrs. Placentia Steele ! 
Who ftrikes the fire of full fourteene, to day, 
5 Ripe for a husband. Pal. I, fhe chimes, fhee chimes. 
Saw you the Doctor Rut, the houfe Phylician ? 
He's fent for, too. Com. To Councell ? 'time you* were 

there. 
Make hafte, and give it a round quick difpatch : 
That wee may goe to dinner betimes, Parfon : 
lo And drinke a health or two more, to the bufines. 
Iro. This is a ftrange put-off ! a reverend youth. 
You ufe him moft furreverently me thinkes ! 
What call you him ? Palate Pleaje ? or Parfon Palate ? 
Com. All's one, but fhorter ! I can gi' you his 
Character. 
15 Hee, is the Prelate of the Parifh, here ; 
And govemes all the Dames ; appoints the cheere ; 
Writes downe the bils of fare ; pricks all the Guefts ; 
Makes all the matches and the marriage feafts 
Within the ward ; drawes all the parifh wils ; 
20 Defignes the Legacies ; and ftrokes the Gills 
Of -the chiefe Mourners ; And (who ever lacks) 
Of all the kindred, hee hath firft his blacks. 
Thus holds hee weddings up, and burials, 

87 [Enter Palate.] G Act . . . Iron/ide. om. G 10 [Exit 
Palate.] G 



sc. Il] The Magnetic Lady 19 

As his maine tithing ; with the Goffips ftals, 

Their pewes ; He's top ftill, at the pubhque meffe ; 25 

Comforts the widow, and the fatherleffe, 

In funerall Sack ! Sits 'bove the Alderman ! 

For of the Ward-mote Queft, he better can, 

The mylterie, then the Levitick Law: 

That peece of Clark-Ihip doth his Veftry awe. 30 

Hee is as he conceives himfelfe, a fine 

Well fumilh'd, and apparaled Divine. 
Iro. Who made this Epigramme, you ? Com. No, 
a great Clarke 

As any 'is of his bulke. [Ben : lonfon) made it. 

Iro. But what's the other Character, Doctor Rut ? 35 
Com. The fame man made 'hem both : but his is fhorter. 

And not in rime, but blancks. He tell you that, too. 

Rut is a young Phyfician to the family : 

That, letting God alone, afcribes to nature 

More then her fhare ; licentious in difcourfe, 40 

And in his life a profeft Voluptary ; 

The flave of money, a Buffon in manners ; 

Obfcene in language ; which he vents for wit ; 

Is fawcy in his Logicks, and difputing. 

Is any thing but civill, or a man. 45 

See here they are ! and walking with my Lady, 

In confultation, afore the doore ; 

Wee will flip in, as if we faw 'hem not. 



45 Re-enter Palate with Rut and lady Loadstone, in dis- 
course. G 



20 The Magnetic Lady [act I 

Act I. Scene III. 

Lady, Palate, Rut. 

Lad. I, tis his fault, fhe's not beftow'd, 
My brother Interefts. Pal. Who, old Sir Moath ? 

Lad. Hee keeps off all her Suitors, keepes the portion, 
Still in his hands : and will not part with all, 
5 On any termes. Pal. Hinc illae lachrymae ; 
Thence flowes the caufe o' the maine grievance. Rut. 

That 
Is a maine one ! how much is the portion ? 
Lad. No petty fumme. Pal. But fixteene thoufand 

pound. 
Rut. He fhould be forc'd. Madam, to lay it downe. 
'° When is it payable ? Lad. When fhe is married. 

Pal. Marry her, marry her, Madam. Rut. Get her 
married. 

Loole not a day, an houre Pal. Not a minute. 

Purine your project reall. Mr. Compaffe, 
Advis'd you, too. He is the perfect Inftrument, 
'5 Your Ladilhip fhould faile by. Rut. Now, Mr. Compaffe 
Is a fine witty man ; I faw him goe in, now. 
Lad. Is hee gone in ? Pal. Yes, and a Fether with 
him, 
He feemes a Souldier. Rut. Some new Sutor, Madam. 
Lad. I am beholden to him : hee brings ever 
2o Variety of good perfons to my table, 
And I muft thanke him, though my brother Intereft 
Diflike of it a little. Pal. Hee likes nothing 
That runs your way. Rut. Troth, and the other cares 

not. 
Hee'U goe his owne way, if he thinke it right. 

Act . . . Rut.'l om. G [Iron, and Com. go into the house. G 
15 Now,] om. G 



sc. iv] The Magnetic Lady 2i 

Lad. Hee's a true friend ! and ther's Mr. Praciife, ^s 
The fine young man of Law comes to the houfe : 
My brother brooks him not, becaufe he thinkes 
He is by me affjgned for my Neice : 
Hee will not heare of it. Rut. Not of that eare ; 
But yet your Ladifhip doth wifely in it 3° 

Pal. 'Twill make him to lay downe the portion fooner. 
If he but drearne you'l match her with a Lawyer. 

Lad. So Mr. Compa/fe fayes. It is betweene 
The Lawyer, and the Courtier, which fhall have her. 

Bal. Who, Sir Diaphanous Silke-worme ? Rut. A 35 
fine Gentle-man 
Old Mr. Silke-wormes Heire. Pal. And a neat Courtier, 
Of a moft elegant thred. Lad. And fo my Goffip 
Poli/h affures me. Here fhe comes ! good Polifh 
Welcome in troth ! How do'ft thou gentle Polifh ? 

Rut. Who's this ? Pal. Dame Polifh, her fhee- 40 
Parafite, 
Her talking, foothing, fometime governing Goffip. 



Act I. Scene IV. 
Polifh, Lady, Palate, Rut. 

Pal. Your Ladifhip is ftill the Lady Loadftone 
That drawes, and drawes unto you, Guefts of all forts : 
The Courtiers, and the Souldiers, and the SchoUers, 
The Travelleis, Phyficians, and Divines, 
As Doctor Ridley writ, and Doctor Barlow ? 
They both have wrote of you, and Mr. Compaffe. 

Lad. Wee meane, they fhall write more, ere it be long. 

Pol. Alas, they are both dead, and 't pleafe you ; But, 
Your Ladifhip meanes well, and fhall meane well, 

35 Bal.] Pal. 1692, f 38 comes !] Enter mistress Polish. G 

40 this ?] Aside to Palate. G Act . . . Rui.] om. G 



22 The Magnetic Lady [act i 

lo So long as I live. How does your fine Neice ? 
My charge, Miftris Placentia Steele ? 

Lad. Shee is not well. Pol. Not well ? Lad. Her 

Doctor layes fo. 
Rut. Not very well ; fhee cannot fhoot at Buts. 
Or manage a great Horfe, but fhee can cranch 
15 A lack of fmall coale ! eat you lime, and haire, 
Soap-afhes, Loame, and has a dainty fpice 
O' the greene fickneffe! Pol. 'Od fheild! Rut. Or 

the Dropfie! 
A toy, a thing of nothing. But my Lady, here 
Her noble Aunt. Pol. Shee is a noble Aunt ! 
20 And a right worfhipfull Lady, and a vertuous ; 
I know it well ; Rut. Well, if you know it, peace. 
Pal. Good fister Polifh heare your betters fpeake. 
Pol. Sir I will fpeake, with my good Ladies leave. 
And fpeake, and fpeake againe ; I did bring up 
25 My Ladies Neice, Mrs, Placentia Steele, 
With my owne Daughter (who's Placentia too) 
And waits upon my Lady, is her woman : 
Her Ladifhip well knowes Mrs. Placentia 
Steele (as I faid) her curious Neice, was left 
30 A Legacie to me ; by Father, and Mother 
With the Nurfe, Keepe, that tended her : her Mother 
Shee died in Child-bed of her and her Father 
Liv'd not long after : for he lov'd her Mother ! 
They were a godly couple ! yet both di'd, 
35 (As wee muft all.) No creature is immortall ; 
I have heard our Paftor fay : no, not the faithful ! 
And they did die (as I faid) both in one moneth. 

Rut. Sure fhee is not long liv'd, if fhe fpend breath 

thus. 
Pol. And did bequeath her, to my care, and hand, 
40 To polifh, and bring up. I moulded her. 
And fafhion'd her, and form'd her ; fhe had the fweat 



SC. v] The Magnetic Lady 23 

Both of my browes and braines. My Lady knowes it 
Since The could write a quarter old. Lad. I know not 
That fhe write fo early, my good Goffip. 
But I doe know fhe was fo long your care, 45 

Till fhe was twelve yeare old ; that I call'd for her. 
And tooke her home, for which I thanke you Polifh, 
And am beholden to you. Rut. I fure thought 
She had a Leafe of talking, for nine lives — 
Pal. It may be fhe has. Pol. Sir fixteene thoufarid 5° 
pound 
Was then her portion ! for fhe was, indeed, 
Their only child ! and this was to be paid 
Vpon her marriage, fo fhe married ftill 
With my good Ladies liking here, her Aunt: 
(I heard the Will read) Mr. Steele her father, ss 

The world condemn'd him to be very rich. 
And very hard, and he did ftand condemn'd 
With that vaine world, till, as 'twas 'prov'd, after, 
He left almoft as much more to good ufes 
In Sir Moath Interefts hands, my Ladies brother, ^° 

Whole lifter he had married : He holds all 
In his clofe gripe. But Mr. Steele, was hberall, 
And a fine man ; and fhe a dainty Dame, 
And a religious, and a bountifull — 



Act I. Scene V. 

Compaffe, Ironjide. To them. 

You knew her Mr. Compaffe ? Com. Spare the torture, 
I doe confeffe without it. Pol. And her husband. 
What a fine couple they were ? and how they liv'd ? 
Com. Yes. 

Act . . . Ironjide.} Enter Compass and Ironside from the house. G 



24 The Magnetic Lady [act i 

Pol. And lov'd together, like a paire of Turtles? 
Com. Yes. 
s Pol. And feafted all the Neighbours ? Com. Take 
her off 
Some body that hath mercy. Rut. O he knowes her, 
It feemes ! Com. Or any meafure of compaffion : 
Doctors, if you be Chriftians, undertake 
One for the loule, the other for the body ! 
lo Pol. She would difpute with the Doctors of Divinity 
At her owne table ! and the Spitle Preachers ! 
And find out the Armenians. Rut. The Arminians ? 
Pol. I fay the Armenians. Com. Nay, I fay fo too ! 
Pol. So Mr. Polijh calld 'hem, the Armenians ! 
'5 Com. And Medes, and Perfians, did he not ? Pol. 
Yes, he knew 'hem, 
And fo did Miftris Steele ! fhe was his Pupill ! 
The Armenians, he would fay, were worfe then Papifts ! 
And then the Perfians, were our Puritanes, 
Had the fine piercing wits ! Com. And who, the Medes ? 
="> Pol. The midle men, the Luke-warme Proteftans ? 
Rut. Out, out. Pol. Sir fhe would find them by 
their branching : 
Their branching fleeves, brancht caffocks, and brancht 

doctrine, 
Befide their Texts. Rut. Stint Karlin : He not heare. 
Confute Jier Par f on. Pol. I refpect no Perfons, 
25 Chaplins, or Doctors, I will fpeake. Lad. Yes, fo't be 
reafon. 
Let her. Rut. Death, fhe cannot fpeake reafon. 
Com. Nor fenfe, if we be Mafters of our fenfes ! 
Lro. What mad woman ha' they got, here, to bate ? 
Pol. Sir I am mad, in truth, and to the purpofe ; 



12 Arminians ?] Armenians ? 1540 Y., 1692, 1716, W Ar- 
minians, G 24 PerXons] Parsons 1692, f 



SC. v] The Magnetic Lady 25 

And cannot but be mad ; to heare my Ladies 30 

Dear filter fleighted, witty Mrs. Steele ! 

Iro. If fhee had a wit, Death has gone neere to fpoile it, 
Affure your felfe. Pol. She was both witty, and 

zealous. 
And hghted all the Tinder o' the truth, 
(As one faid) of Religion, in our Parifh : 35 

Shee was too learn'd to live long with us ! 
She could the Bible in the holy tongue : 
And reade it without pricks : had all her Maforeth ; 
Knew Burton, and his Bull ; and fcribe Prin-Gent ! 
Prae/to-be-gon : and all the Pharifees. Lad. Deare 40 

Goffip, 
Be you gone, at time, too, and vouchfafe 
To fee your charge, my Neice. Pol. I fhall obey 
If your wife Ladifhip thinke fit : I know. 
To yeild to my Superiors. Lad. A good woman ! 
But when fhe is impertinent, growes earneft, 45 

A litle troublefome, and out of feafon : 
Her love, and zeale tranfport her. Com. I am glad, 
That any thing could port her hence. Wee now 
Have hope of dinner, after her long grace. 
I have brought your Ladifhip a hungry Gueft, here, so 
A Souldier, and my brother Captaine Iron/ide : 
Who being by cuftome growne a Sanguinarie, 
The folemne, and adopted fonne of flaughter : 
Is more delighted i' the chafe of an enemy. 
An execution of three daies, and nights ; ss 

Then all the hope of numerous fucceffion. 
Or happineffe of Iffue could bring to him. 

Rut. Hee is no Suitor then ? Pal. So't fhould 

feeme. 



44 Superiors. [Exit. G 58 then ? [Aside to Pal. G 

So't] So it W. f 



26 The Magnetic Lady [act i 

Com. And, if hee can get pardon at heavens hand, 
6° For all his murthers, is in as good cafe 
As a new chriftned Infant : (his imployments 
Continu'd to him, without Interruption ; 
And not allowing him, or time, or place 
To commit any other finne, but thofe) 
65 Pleafe you to make him welcome for a meale, Madam, 
Lad. The nobleneffe of his profeffion makes 
His welcome perfect : though your courfe defcription 
Would feeme to fully it. Iro. Never, where a beame 
Of fo much favour doth illuftrate it, 
7° Right knowing Lady. Pal. She hath cur'd all well. 
Rut. And hee hath fitted well the Complement. 



Act I. Scene VI. 

To them. Sir Diaphafious. Practife. 

Com. No ; here they come ! the prime Magnetick Guefts 
Our Lady Loadftone fo refpects : the Artick ! 
And th' Antartick ! Sir Diaphanous Silke-worme ! 
A Courtier extraordinary ; who by diet 
5 Of meates, and drinkes ; his temperate exercife ; 
Choise mufick ; frequent bathes ; his horary fhifts 
Of Shirts and Waft-coats ; meanes to immortalize 
Mortality it felfe ; and makes the effence 
Of his whole happineffe the trim of Court. 
10 Dia. I thanke you Mr. Compasse, for your fhort 
Encomiaftick. Rut. It is much in httle. Sir. 

Pal. Concife, and quick : the true ftile of an Orator. 

Com. But Mr. Practife here, my Ladies Lawyer ! 
Or man of Law : (for that's the true writing) 

Act . . . Practi/e.] Enter sir Diaphanous Silkworm and Prac- 
tice. G 14 that's] that is W, f 



sc. vi] The Magnetic Lady 27 

A man fo dedicate to his prof eff ion, 's 

And the preferments goe along with it ; 

As fcarce the thundring bruit of an invafion, 

Another eighty eight, threatning his Countrey 

With mine ; would no more worke upon him. 

Then Syracufa's Sack, on Archimede : '° 

So much he loves that Night-cap ! the Bench-gowne ! 

With the broad Guard o'th back ! Thele fhew 

A man betroth'd unto the ftudy of our Lawes ! 

Pra. Which you but thinke the crafty impofitions, 
Of fubtile Clerks, feats of fine underftanding, ^5 

To abufe Clots, and Clownes with, Mr. Compaffe, 
Having no ground in nature, to fuftaine it 
Or light, from thofe cleare caufes : to the inquiry 
And fearch of which, your Mathematicall head. 
Hath fo devow'd it felfe. Com. Tut, all men are 30 

Philofophers, to their inches. There's within, 
Sir Intereft, as able a Philofopher, 
In bu37ing, and felling ! has reduc'd his thrifte, 
To certaine principles, and i' that method ! 
As hee will tell you inftantly, by Logorythmes, as 

The utmoft profit of a ftock imployed : 
(Be the Commoditie what it will) the place. 
Or time, but caufing very, very little. 
Or, I may fay, no paralaxe at all, 

In his pecuniary obfervations ! 4° 

He has brought your Neices portion with him. Madam, 
At leaft the man that muf t receive it ; Here 
They come negotiating the affaire ; 
You may perceive the Contract in their faces ; 
And read th' indenture: If you'ld figne 'hem. So. 45 

22, 23 With . . ■. Lawes !] With the broad guard o' th back ! 
these shew a man / Betroth'd unto the study of our laws. W, f 
45 you'ld] you'll 1692, f 



28 The Magnetic Lady [ACT i 

Act 1. Scene VII. 

To them. Ifitereft. Bias. 

Pal. What is he, Mr. Compaffe ? Com. A Vi-poH- 
tique ! 
Or a fub-aiding Inftrument of State ! 
A kind of laborious Secretary 
To a great man ! (and Hkely to come on) 
5 Full of attendance ! and of fuch a ftride 
In bufines politique, or oeconomick. 
As, well, his Lord may ftoope t' advife with him. 
And be prelcribed by him, in affaires 
Of higheft confequence, when hee is duU'd, 
'° Or wearied with the leffe. Dia. 'Tis Mr. Bias, 
Lord WhacKtim's Politique. Com. You know the man ? 
Dia. I ha' feene him waite at Court, there, with his 
Maniples 
Of papers, and petitions. Pra. Hee is one 
That over-rules tho', by his authority 
'5 Of living there ; and cares for no man elfe : 
Neglects the facred letter of the Law ; 
And holds it all to be but a dead heape. 
Of civill inftitutions : the reft only 
Of common men, and their caufes, a farragoe, 
2° Or a made difh in Court ; a thing of nothing : 

Com. And that's your quarrell at him ? a juft plea. 
Int. I tell you fifter Load/lone — Com. (Hang your eares 
This way : and heare his praifes, now Moath opens) 
Int. I ha' brought you here the very man ! the Jewell 
'5 Of all the Court ! clofe Mr. Bias ! Sifter, 
Apply him to your fide ! or you may weare him 
Here o' your breft ! or hang him in your eare ! 
He's a fit Pendant for a Ladies tip ! 

Act . . . Bias] Enter sir Moth Interest and Bias. G 23 [Aside. G 



SC. vii] The Magnetic Lady 29 

A Chrifolite, a Gemme : the very Agat 

Of State, and Politie : cut from the Quar 3° 

Of Macchiavel, a true Cornelian, 

As Tacitus himfelfe ! and to be made 

The brooch to any true State-cap in Europe ! 

Lad. You praife him brother, as you had hope to 
fell him. 

Com. No Madam, as hee had hope to fell your Neice 35 
Vnto him. Lad. 'Ware your true jefts, Mr. Compaffe ; 
They will not relifh. Int. I will tell you, fifter, 
I cannot cry his Ca.ract up enough : 
He is unvaluable : All the Lords 

Have him in that efteeme, for his relations, 40 

Corrant's, Avifes, Correfpondences 
With this Ambaffadour, and that Agent ! Hee 
WiU fcrew you out a Secret from a Statift — . 

Com. So eafie, as fome Cobler wormes a Dog. 

Int. And lock it in the Cabinet of his memory — . 45 

Com. Till t* turne a politique infect, or a Fly ! 
Thus long. Int. You may be merry Mr. Compaffe, 
But though you have the reverfion of an office. 
You are not in 't Sir. Bia. Remember that. 

Com. Why, fhould that fright me, Mr. Bi — , from 50 
telling 
Whofe as you are ? Int. Sir he's one, can doe 
His turnes there : and deliver too his letters. 
As punctually, and in as good a fafhion. 
As ere a Secretary can in Court. 

Iro. Why, is it any matter in what fafhion ss 

A man deliver his letters, fo he not open 'hem ? 

Bia. Yes, we have certaine precedents in Court, 
From which we never fwerve, once in an age : 
And (whatfoere he thinkes) I know the Arts, 

51 as] ass 1692, f 

C2 



30 The Magnetic Lady [act i 

6° And Sciences doe not directlier make 

A Graduate in our Vniverfities ; 

Then an habituall gravitie prefers 

A man in Court. Com. Which by the truer ftile, 

Some call a formall, flat fervility. 
65 Bia. Sir you may call it what you pleafe. But wee 

(That tread the path of publike bulineffes) 

Know what a tacit Ihrug is, or a Ihrinke ; 

The wearing the Callott ; the politique hood : 

And twenty other purer ga, o' the by, 
70 You Seculars under ftand not : I fhall tiick him, 

If his reverfion came, i' my Lords way. 
Dia. What is that Mr. Practife ? you fure know ? 

Mas' Compaffes reverfion? Pra. A fine place 

(Surveyor of the Projects generall) 
75 1 would I had it. Pal. What is't worth ? Pra. 
O Sir, 

A Nemo fcit. Lad. Wee'l thinke on't afore dinner. 



C^roRUS. 

BOy. Now, Gentlemen, what cenfure you of our Pro- 
tajis, or firft Actl 
Pro. WeU, Boy, it is a faire Prefentment of your 
Actors. And a handfome promife of fomewhat to come 
5 hereafter. 

Dam. But, there is nothing done in it, or concluded : 
Therefore I fay, no Act. 

Boy. A fine peice of Logick ! Doe you looke, Mr. 

Dampiay, for conclufions in a Protefis ? I thought the 

'° Law of Comedy had referv'd to the Cataffrophe : and that 

71 came] come 1692, f 76 [Exeunt. G Chorus] 

om. G 8 Protefis ?] Protasis 1692, f 8, 9 relerv'd] 

reserved [them] G 



sc. vii] The Magnetic Lady 31 

the Epitasis, (as wee are taught) and the Cataftafis, had 
beene interveening parts, to have beene expected. But 
you would have all come together it feemes : The Clock 
fhould ftrike five, at once, with the Acts. 

Dam. Why, if it could doe fo, it were well. Boy. 's 

Boy. Yes, if the nature of a Clock were to fpeake, 
not ftrike. So, if a Child could be borne, in a Play, and 
grow up to a man, i' the firft Scene, before he went off 
the Stage : and then after to come forth a Squire, and 
bee made a Knight : and that Knight to travell betweene '° 
the Acts, and doe wonders i' the holy land or elfe where ; 
kill Paynims wild Boores, dun Cowes, and other Mon- 
fters ; beget him a reputation, and marry an Emperours 
Daughter : for his Mrs. Convert her Fathers Countrey ; 
and at laft come home, lame and aU to be laden with ^s 
miracles. 

Dam. Thefe miracles would pleafe, I affure you : 
and take the People ! For there be of the People, that 
will expect miracles, and more then miracles from this 
Pen. 3° 

Boy. Doe they thinke this Pen can juggle ? I would 
we had Hokospokos for 'hem then ; your People, or 
Travitanto Tudesko. 

Dam. Who's that Boy ? 

Boy. Another Juggler, with a long name. Or that 35 
your expectors would be gone hence, now, at the firft 
Act ; or expect no more hereafter, then they underftand. 

Dam. Why fo my peremptory Jack ? 

Boy. My name is John, indeed — Becaufe, who expect 
what is impoffible, or beyond nature, defraud them- '•° 
selves. 

23, 24 matry . . . Countrey ;] marry an Emperours Daughter 
for his Mrs. Convert her Father's Countrey; Y. 1640. marry an 
emperor's daughter for his mistress : convert her father's country ; 
W, f 



32 The Magnetic Lady [act i 

Pro. Nay, there the Boy faid well : They doe defraud 
themfelves indeed. 

Boy. And therefore, Mr. Damplay, unlelfe like a 
45 folemne Juftice of wit, you will damne our Play, unheard, 
or unexamin'd ; I fhall intreat your Mrs. Madam Ex- 
fectation, if fhee be among thefe Ladies, to have patience, 
bit a piffing while : give our Springs leave to open a 
httle, by degrees : A Source of ridiculous matter may 
so breake forth anon, that fhall fteepe their temples, and 
bathe their braines in laughter, to the fomenting of 
Stupiditie it felfe, and the awaking any velvet Lethargy 
in the Houfe. 

Pro. Why doe you maintaine your Poets quarrell 
55 fo with velvet, and good clothes. Boy ? wee have feene 
him in indifferent good clothes, ere now. 

Boy. And may doe in better, if it pleafe the King 
(his Mafter) to fay Amen to it, and allow it, to whom hee 
acknowledgeth all. But his clothes fhall never be the 
6o beft thing about him, though, hee will have fomewhat 
befide, either of humane letters, or fevere honefty, fhall 
fpeak him a man though he went naked. 

Pro. Hee is beholden to you, if you can make this 
good, Boy. 
65 Boy. Himfelfe hath done that, already, againft Envy. 
Dam. What's your name Sir ? or your Countrey ? 
Boy. lohn Try-guft my name : A Cornifh youth, 
and the Poets Servant. 

Dam. Weft-countrey breed, I thought, you were fo 
70 bold. 

Boy. Or rather fawcy : to find out your palate, Mr. 
Damplay, Faith we doe call a Spade, a Spade, in Corne- 
wall. If you dare damne our Play, i' the wrong place, 
we fhall take heart to tell you fo. 
75 Pro. Good Boy. 



sc. l] The Magnetic Lady 33 

Act II. Scene I. 
Keepe, Placentia. Pleajance. 

Kee. O Weet Miltris, pray you be merry : you are fure 

♦^ To have a husband now. Pla. I, if the ftore 

Hurt not the choife. Pie. Store is no fore, young 

Miftris, 
My mother is wont to fay. Keep. And fhee'l fay wifely, 
As any mouth i' the Parifh. Fixe on one, 5 

Fixe upon one, good Miftris. Pla. At this caU, too. 
Here's Mr. Practije, who is call'd to the Bench 
Of purpofe. Kee. Yes, and by my Ladies meanes — 
Pie. 'Ti3 thought to be the man. Kee. A Lawyers 

wife. 
Pie. And a fine Lawyers wife. Kee. Is a brave 10 

calling. 
Pie. Sweet Miftris Practije \ Kee. Gentle Miftris 

Practife ! 
Pie. Faire, open Miftris Practiie ! Kee. I, and clofe 
And cunning Mrs. Practije ! Pla. I not like that ; 
The Courtiers is the neater calling. Pie. Yes, 
My Lady Silke-worme. Kee. And to fhine in Plufh. 15 
Pie. Like a young night Crow, a Diaphanous Silfie- 

worme. 
Kee. Lady Diaphanous founds moft delicate ! 
Pie. Which would you choofe, now Miftris ? Pla. 
Cannot tell. 
The copie does confound one. Pie. Here's my Mother. 

S. D. A Room in lady Loadstone's House. Enter Nurse Keep, 
Placentia, and Pleasance. G 



34 The Magnetic Lady [act II 

Act II. Scene 11. 

Polifh. Keepe. Placentia. Pleafance. Needle. 

Pol. How now, my dainty charge, and diligent Nurfe ? 
^ To her daugk-'y^hs.t were you chanting on ? (*God bleffe you Maiden.) 
ier nee ing. ^^^ -^^^ wcrc inchanting all ; wifhing a husband 
For my young Miftris here. A man to pleafe her. 
5 Pol. Shee fhall have a man, good Nurfe, and mult 
have a man : 
A man, and a halfe, if wee can choofe him out : 
We are all in Counfell within, and fit about it : 
The Doctors, and the SchoUers, and my Lady ; 
Who's wifer then all us — . Where's Mr. Needle ? 
'° Her Ladifhip fo lacks him to prick out 
The man ? How does my fweet young Miftris ? 
You looke not well, me thinkes ! how doe you, deare 

charge ? 
You muft have a husband, and you fhall have a husband ; 
There's two put out to making for you : A third, 
>5 Your Vncle promifes : But you muft ftill 
Be rul'd by your Aunt : according to the will 
Of your dead father, and mother (who are in heaven). 
Your Lady- Aunt has choise i' the houfe for you : 
Wee doe not truft your Vncle ; hee would keepe you 
^° A Batchler ftill, by keeping of your portion : 
And keepe you not alone without a husband. 
But in a fickneffe : I, and the greene fickneffe. 
The Maidens malady ; which is a fickneffe : 
A kind of a difeafe, I can affure you, 
2 5 And like the Fifh our Mariners call remora — . 

Kee. A remora Miftris ! Pol. How now goody Nurfe ? 
Dame Keepe of Katernes ? what ? have you an oare 

Act . . . Needle] ova. G Enter Polish. G 2 on ? [Plea- 
sance kneels] G 11 man ? [Exit Pleasance] G 



SC. Il] The Magnetic Lady 35 

r the Cockboat, 'caufe you are a Saylors wife ? 

And come from Shadwell ? I fay a remora : 

For it will ftay a Ship, that's mider Saile ! 30 

And ftaies are long, and tedious things to Maids ! 

And maidens are young fhips, that would be failing, 

When they be rigg'd : wherefore is all their trim elfe ? 

Nee. True ; and for them to be ftaid — . Pol. The 
ftay is dangerous : 
You know it Mrs. Needle. Nee. I know fomewhat : 35 
And can affure you, from Doctors mouth, 
Shee has a Dropfie ; and muft change the ayre, 
Before fhe can recover. Pol. Say you fo. Sir ? 

Nee. The Doctor faies fo. Pol. Sayes his worfhip fo ? 
I warrant 'hem he fayes true, then ; they fometimes 40 
Are Sooth-fayers, and alwayes cunning men. 
Which Doctor was it ? Nee. Eeene my Ladies Doctor : 
The neat houfe-Doctor : But a true ftone-Doctor. 

Pol. Why ? heare you, Nurfe ? How comes this 
geare to paffe ? 
This is your fault in truth : It fhall be your fault, 45 

And muft be your fault : why is your Mif tris ficke ? 
Shee had her health, the while fhee was with me. 

Kee. Alas good Miftris Polish, I am no Saint, 
Much leffe, my Lady, to be urg'd give health. 
Or fickneffe at my will : but to awaite 50 

The ftarres good pleafure, and to doe my duty. 

Pol. You muft doe more then your dutie, foolifh Nurfe : 
You muft doe all you can ; and more then you can, 
More then is poffible : when folkes are fick, 
Efpecially, a Miftris ; a young Miftris. ss 

Kee. Here's Mr. Doctor himselfe, cannot doe that 

Pol. Doctor Doo-all can doe it. Thence he's call'd fo. 



29 Shadwell ? [Enter Needle] G 35 Mrs.] Mr. 1692, f 

56 [Exit. G Enter lady Loadstone and Rut. G 



36 The Magnetic Lady [act li 

Act 11. Scene III. 

Rut. Polifh. Lady. Keeps. Placentia. 

Rut. Whence ? what's hee call'd ? Pol. Doctor, 
doe all you can, 
I pray you, and befeech you, for my charge, here. 
Lad. She's my tendring Goffip, loves my Neice. 
Pol. I know you can doe all things, what you pleale, 
Sir, 
5 For a young Damfel, my good Ladies Neice, here ! 
You can doe what you lilt. Rut. Peace Tiffany. 
Pol. Efpecially in this new cafe o' the Dropfie. 
The Gentlewoman (I doe feare) is leven'd. 

Rut. Leven'd ? what's that ? Pol. Puft, blowne, 

and't pleafe your worfhip 
Rut. What ! Darke, by darker ? What is blowne ? 
puff'd, fpeake 
Englilh — Pol. Tainted (and't pleafe you) fome doe call it. 
She fwels, and fwels fo with it. — Rut. Give her vent, 
If fhee doe fwel. A Gimblet muft be had : 
It is a Tympanites fhe is troubled with ; 
15 There are three kinds : The firft is Ana- j area 
Vnder the Flefh, a Tumor: that's not hers. 
The fecond is A j cites, or Aquojus, 
A watry humour : that's not hers neither. 
But Tympanites (which we call the Drum) 
2o A wind bombes in her belly, muft be unbrac'd. 
And with a Faucet, or a Peg, let out. 
And fhe'U doe well : get her a husband. Pol. Yes, 
I fay fo Mr. Doctor, and betimes too. Lad. As 
Soone as wee can : let her beare up to day, 
25 Laugh, and keepe company, at Gleeke, or Crimpe. 

Act . . . Placentia.} om. G 12 fwels lo] so swels 1716, f 

23, 24 I say so, master doctor, and betimes too. / Lady L. As 
soon as we can : let her bear up to-day, G 



SC. Ill] The Magnetic Lady 37 

Pol. Your Ladifhip fayes right, Crimpe, fure, will 

cure her. 
Rut. Yes, and Gleeke, too ; peace Goffip Tittle-Tattle, 
Shee mult to morrow, downe into the Countrey, 
Some twenty mile ; A Coach, and fix brave Horfes : 
Take the frefh aire, a moneth there, or five weekes : 30 
And then returne a Bride, up to the Towne, 
For any husband i' the Hemifphere, 
To chuck at ; when fhe has dropt her Timpane. 

Pol. Muft fhe then drop it ? Rut. Thence, 'tis call'd 

a Dropfie. 
The Timpanites is one fpice of it ; as 

A toy, a thing of nothing, a meere vapour : 
He blow't away. Lad. Needle, get you the Coach 
Ready, against to morrow morning. Nee. Yes Madam. 
Lad. He downe with her my felfe, and thanke the 

Doctor. 
Pol. Wee all fhall thanke him. But, deare Madam, 40 

thinke, 
Refolve upon a man, this day. Lad. I ha' done't. 
To teU you true (fweet Goffip ;) here is none 
But Mafter Doctor, hee fhall be o' the Counfell : 
The man I have defign'd her to, indeed. 
Is Mafter Practife : he's a neat young man, 4s 

Forward, and growing up, in a profeffion ! 
Like to be fome body, if the Hall ftand ! 
And Pleading hold ! A prime young Lawyers wife. 
Is a right happy fortune. Rut. And fhee bringing 
So plentiful! a portion, they may live s* 

Like King, and Queene, at common Law together ! 
Sway Judges ; guide the Courts ; command the Clarkes ; 
And fright the Evidence ; rule at their pleafures, 
Like petty Soveraignes in all cafes. Pol. O, that 

29 mile] miles 1692, f 38 [Exit. G 



38 The Magnetic Lady [ACT 11 

55 Will be a worke of time ; fhe may be old 
Before her husband rife to a chiefe Judge ; 
And all her flower be gone : No, no, a Lady 
O' the firft head I'M have her ; and in Court : 
The Lady Silk-worme, a Diaphanous Lady : 

6° And be a Vi-coimtelfe to carry all 
Before her (as wee fay) her Gentleman-ufher : 
And caft off Pages, bare, to bid her Aunt 
Welcome unto her honour, at her lodgings. 

Rut. You fay well, Ladies Goffip; if my Lady 

65 Could admit that, to have her Neice precede her. 

Lad. For that, I muft consult mine owne Ambition, 
My zealous Goffip. Pol. O, you fhall precede her : 
You fhall be a Counteffe ! Sir Diaphanous, 
Shall get you made a Counteffe ! Here he comes ; 

70 Has my voice certaine : O fine Courtier ! 
O bleffed man ! the bravery prick't out. 
To make my dainty charge, a Vi-counteffe ! 
And my good Lady, her Aunt, Counteffe at large ! 



Act IL Scene IIIL 

To them. Diaphanous. Palate. 

Dia. I tell thee Par f on, if I get her, reckon 
Thou haft a friend in Court ; and fhalt command 
A thoufand pound, to goe on any errand. 
For any Church preferment thou haft a mind too. 
5 Pal. I thanke your worfhip : I will fo work for you. 
As you fhall ftudy all the wayes to thanke me : 
He worke my Lady, and my Ladies friends ; 
Her Goffip, and this Doctor ; and Squire Needle, 
And Mr. Compaffe, who is all in all : 

70 certaine :] Enter behind sir Diaphanous Silkworm and Palate, 
in discourse. G Act . . . Palate.} om. G 4 too.] to 1692, f 



sc. nil] The Magnetic Lady 39 

The very Fly fhee moves by : Hee is one i«> 

That went to Sea with her husband, Sir lohn Loadftone, 

And brought home the rich prizes : all that wealth 

Is left her ; for which fervice fhe refpects him : 

A dainty SchoUer in the Mathematicks ; 

And one fhee wholly imployes. Now Dominus Practife ^5 

Is yet the man (appointed by her Ladifhip) 

But there's a trick to fet his cap awry : 

If I know any thing ; hee hath confeft 

To me in private, that hee loves another, 

My Ladies woman, Mrs. Pleafance : therefore 20 

Secure you of Rivalfhip. Dia. I thanke thee 

My noble Par /on : There's five hundred pound 

Waites on thee more for that. Pal. Accoaft the Neice : 

Yonder fhee walkes alone : He move the Aunt : 

But here's the Goffip : fhee expects a morfell. ^s 

Ha' you nere a Ring, or toy to throw away ? 

Dia. Yes, here's a Diamont of fome threefcore pound, 
I pray you give her that. Pal. If fhee will take it. 

Dia. And there's an Emerauld, for the Doctor too : 
Thou Parfon, thou fhalt coine me : I am thine. 30 

Pal. Here Mr. Compajfe comes : Doe you fee my Lady ? 
And all the reft ? how they doe flutter about him ! 
Hee is the Oracle of the houfe, and family ! 
Now, is your time : goe nick it with the Neice : 
I will walke by ; and hearken how the Chimes goe. 3s 



Act II. Scene V. 

Compaffe. To them. 

Com. Nay Parfon, ftand not off ; you may approach : 
This is no fuch hid point of State, wee handle, 

31 comes: Enter Compass. G 34 [Exit Sir Dia. G 

35 [Walks aside. G Act . . . Compa/fe.] om. G 



40 The Magnetic Lady [act ii 

But you may heare it : for wee are all of Counfell. 
The gentle Mr. Practife, hath dealt clearly, 
5 And nobly with you, Madam. Lad. Ha'you talk'd with him ? 
And made the overture ? Com. Yes, firft I mov'd 
The bufines trufted to me, by your Ladifhip, 
I' your owne words, almoft your very Sillabes : 
Save where my Memory trefpaff 'd 'gainft their elegance : 

lo For which I hope your pardon. Then I inlarg'd 
In my owne homely ftile, the fpeciall goodnelle, 
And greatnefle, of your bounty, in your choice. 
And free conferring of a benefit. 
So without ends, conditions, any tye 

»5 But his meere vertue, and the value of it, 
To call him to your kindred, to your veines, 
Infert him in your family, and to make him 
A Nephew, by the offer of a Neice, 
With fuch a portion ; which when hee had heard, 

2° And moft maturely acknowledg'd (as his calling 
Tends all unto maturity) he retum'd 
A thankes, as ample as the Curtefie, 
(In my opinion) faid it was a Grace, 
Too great to be rejected, or accepted 

25 By him ! But as the termes ftood with his fortune, 
Hee was not to prevaricate, with your Ladifhip, 
But rather to require ingenious leave, 
He might with the fame love, that it was offer'd 
Refufe it, fince he could not with his honefty, 

3° (Being he was ingag'd before) receive it. 

Pal. The fame he faid to me. Com. And name the 

party. 
Pal. He did, and he did not. Com. Come, leave 
your Schemes, 
And fine Amphibolies, Par f on. Pal. You'll heare more. 

31 name] nam'd, W named, G party.] party ? 1692, f 



sc. v] The Magnetic Lady 41 

Pol. Why, now your Ladifhip is free to choofe, 
The Courtier Sir Diaphanous : he fhall doe it, 3s 

He move it to him my lelfe. Lad. What will you move 
to him ? 

Pol. The making you a Counteffe. Lad. Stint, 
fond woman. 
Know you the partie Mr. Practife meanes ? To Compajfe. 

Com. No, but your Parfon fayes he knowes, Madam. 

Lad. I feare he fables ; Parson doe you know 40 

Where Mr. Practife is ingag'd ? Pal. He tell you ! 
But under feale, her Mother muft not know : 
'Tis with your Ladifhips woman, Mrs. Pleajance. 

Com. How ! Lad. Hee is not mad. Pal. O hide 
the hideous fecret 
From her, fhee'l trouble all elfe. You doe hold 45 

A Cricket by the wing. Com. Did he name Pleajance ? 
Are you fure Parfon ? Lad. O'tis true, your Mrs ! 
I find where your fhooe wrings you, Mr. Compaffe : 
But, you'l looke to him there. Com. Yes, here's Sir 

Moath, 
Your brother, with his Bias, and the Partie 50 

Deepe in difcourfe : 'twiU be a bargaine, and fale ; 
I fee by their clofe working of their heads. 
And running them together fo in Councell. 

Lad^ Will Mr. Practife be of Councell against us ? 

Com. He is a Lawyer, and muft fpeake for his Fee, 55 
Againft his Father, and Mother, all his kindred ; 
His brothers, or his lifters : no exception 
Lies at the Common-Law. He muft not alter 

Nature for forme, but goe on in his path 

It may be he will be for us. Doe not you 60 

Offer to meddle, let them take their couife : 

53 Enter at a distance, in discourse, sir Moth Interest, Prac- 
tice, and Bias. G 44 mad.] mad ? 1716, f 60 he will] 
he'll W, f 



42 The Magnetic Lady [ACT II 

Dif patch, and marry her off to any husband ; 
Be not you fcrupulous ; let who can have her : 
So he lay downe the portion, though he gueld it : 
6s It will maintaine the fuit againft him: fomewhat, 
Something in hand is better, then no birds ; 
He fhall at laft accompt, for the utmoft farthing, 
If you can keepe your hand from a dif charge. 

Pol. Sir, doe but make her worfhipfull Aunt a Coun- 
teffe, 
70 And fhe is yours : her Aunt has worlds to leave you ! 
The wealth of fix Eaft Indian Fleets at leaft! 
Her Husband, Sir John Load/tone, was the Governour 
O' the Company, feven yeares. Dia. And came there 

home. 
Six Fleets in feven yeares ? Pol. I cannot tell, 
75 I muft attend my Goffip, her good Ladifhip, 

Pla. And will you make me a Vi-counteffe too ? For 
How doe they make a Counteffe ? in a Chaire ? 
Or 'pon a bed ? Dia. Both wayes, fweet bird, He 
fhew you. 



Act 11. Scene VI. 

Intereft. Practife. Bias. Compaffe. Palate. Rnt. 
To them. Ifonfide. 

Int. The truth is, Mr. Practife, now we are fure 
That you are off, we dare not come on the bolder : 
The portion left, was fixteene thoufand pound, 
I doe confeffe it, as a juft man fhould. 
s And call here Mr. Compaffe, with thefe Gentlemen, 

68 [Exit Lady L. G 69 Pol. [to Diaphanous.] G 

75 [Exit. G 76 For,] sir ? G 78 [Exeunt sir Diaphanous 

and Placentia. G Act . . . Iron/ide.] om. G i Int.] Sir 

Moth, [coming forward.] G Rnt."] Rut. 1692 — W 



sc. Vl] The Magnetic Lady 43 

To the relation : I will ftill be juft. 

Now for the profits every way arifing, 

It was the Donors wifedome, thofe fhould pay 

Me for my watch, and breaking of my fleepes ; 

It is no petty charge, you know, that fumme ; 

To keepe a man awake, for fourteene yeare. 

Pra. But (as you knew to ufe it i' that time) 
It would reward your waking. Int. That's my in- 

duftry ; 
As it might be your reading, ftudie, and counfell ; 
And now your pleading, who denies it you ? 
I have my calling too. Well, Sir, the Contract 
Is with this Gentleman, ten thoufand pound. 
(An ample portion, for a younger brother, 
With a loft, tender, delicate rib of mans flefh, 
That he may worke like waxe, and print upon.) 
He expects no more, then that fumme to be tendred, 
And hee receive it : Thofe are the conditions. 

Pra. A direct bargaine, and in open fale market. 

Int. And what I have furnifh'd him with all o' the by. 
To appeare, or fo : A matter of foure hundred. 
To be deduc'd upo' the payment — . Bia. Right. 
You deale like a juft man ftill. Int. Draw up this 
Good Mr. Practife, for us, and be fpeedy. 

Pra. But here's a mighty gaine Sir, you have made 
Of this one ftock ! the principall firft doubled. 
In the firft feven yeare ; and that redoubled 
I' the next feven ! befide fixe thoufand pound. 
There's threefcore thoufand got in fourteene yeare, 
After the ufual rate of ten i' the hundred. 
And the ten thoufand paid. Int. I thinke it be ! 

Pra. How will you fcape the clamour, and the en vie ? 



22 Thofe] these. W, f 23 in open fale market.] sale in open 

market. W, f 

D 



44 The Magnetic Lady [ACT II 

Int. Let 'hem exclaime, and envie : what care I ? 

Their murmurs raife no bhfters i' my flefh. 

My monies are my blood, my parents, kindred : 
40 And he that loves not thole, he is unnatural : 

I am perlwaded that the love of monie 

Is not a vertue, only in a Subject, 

But might befit a Prince. And (were there need) 

I find me able make good the Affertion. 
45 To any reasonable mans underltanding. 

And make him to confeffe it. Com. Gentlemen, 

Doctors, and Schollers, yo'll heare this, and looke for 

As much true fecular wit, and deepe Lay-fenfe, 

As can be fhowne on fuch a common place. 
50 Int. Firft, wee all know the foule of man is infinite 

In what it covets. Who defireth knowledge, 

Defires it infinitely. Who covets honour. 

Covets it infinitely. It will be then 

No hard thing, for a coveting man, to prove 
55 Or to confeffe, hee aimes at infinite wealth. 

Com. His foule lying that way. Int. Next, every 
man 

Is i' the hope, or poffibility 

Of a whole world : this prefent world being nothing. 

But the difperfed iffue of firft one : 
60 And therefore I not fee, but a juft man 

May with juft reafon, and in office ought 

Propound unto himselfe. Com. An infinite wealth ! 

He beare the burden : Goe you on Sir Moath. 
Int. Thirdly, if wee confider man a member, 
65 But of the body politique, we know, 

By juft experience, that the Prince hath need 

More of one wealthy, then ten fighting men. 

Com. There you went out o' the road, a little from us. 

59 of firft one :] o' th' first one. W of [the] first one. G 



SC. VI] The Magnetic Lady 45 

Int. And therefore, if the Princes aimes be infinite, 
It muft be in that, which makes us all. Com. Infinite 70 
wealth. 

Int. Fourthly, 'tis naturall to all good fubjects. 
To fet a price on money ; more then fooles 
Ought on their Mrs. Picture ; every piece 
Fro' the penny to the twelve pence, heingthe Hieroglyphick, 
And facred Sculpture of the Soveraigne. 75 

Com. A manifeft conclufion, and a fafe one. 

Int. Fiftly, wealth gives a man the leading voice. 
At all conventions ; and difplaceth worth, 
With generall allowance to all parties : 
It makes a trade to take the waU of vertue ; 80 

And the mere iffue of a fhop, right Honourable. 
Sixtly, it doth inable him that hath it 
To the performance of all reall actions. 
Referring him to himfelfe f till : and not binding 
His will to any circumftance ; without him ; 85 

It gives him precife knowledge of himfelfe ; 
For, be he rich, he ftraight with evidence knowes 
Whether he have any compaffion, 
Or inclination unto vertue, or no ; 

Where the poore knave erronioufly beleeves, 90 

If he were rich, he would build Churches, or 
Doe fuch mad things. Seventhly, your wife poore men 
Have ever beene contented to obferve 
Rich Fooles, and fo to ferve their tumes upon them : 
Subjecting all their wit to the others wealth. 95 

And become Gentlemen Parafites, Squire Bauds, 
To feed their Patrons honorable humors. 
Eightly, 'tis certaine that a man may leave 
His wealth, or to his Children, or his friends ; 
His wit hee cannot fo difpofe, by Legacie, '«° 

As they fhall be a Harrington the better for 't. 

xoi Enter captain Ironside. G 

D2 



46 The Magnetic Lady [ACT 11 

Com. He may intaile a Jeft upon his houfe, though : 
Enter Iron- Or leavc a tale to his pofteritie, 

■^^ ' To be told after him. Iro. As you have done here ? 

"5 T' invite your friend, and brother to a feaft, 
Where all the Guefts are fo mere heterogene, 
And ftrangers, no man knows another, or cares 
If they be Chriftians, or Mahumetans ! 
That here are met. Com. Is't any thing to you brother, 

"° To know Rehgions more then thofe you fight for ? 
Iro. Yes, and with whom I eat. I may difputQ, 
And how fhall I hold argument with fuch, 
I neither know their humors, nor their herefies ; 
Which are religions now, and fo receiv'd ? 

"5 Here's no man among thefe that keepes a fervant, 
To' inquire his Mafter of : yet i' the houfe, 
I heare it buzz'd, there are a brace of Doctors ; 
A Foole, and a Phyfician : with a Courtier, 
That feeds on mulbery leaves, like a true Silkeworme : 

"° A Lawyer, and a mighty Money-Baud, 

Sir Moath ! has brought his politique Bias with him : 
A man of a moft animadverting humor : 
Who, to indeare himfelfe unto his his Lord, 
Will tell him, you and I, or any of us, 

»=5 That here are met, are all pernitious fpirits, 
And men of peftilent purpofe, meanely affected 
Vnto the State wee live in: and beget 
Himfelfe a thankes, with the great men o' the time, 
By breeding Jealoufes in them of us, 

130 Shall croffe our fortunes, fruftrate our endeavours. 
Twice feven years after : And this trick be call'd 
Cutting of throats, with a whifpering, or a pen-knife. 
I muft cut his throat now : I' am bound in honour. 
And by the Law of armes, to fee it done ; 

102 though :] om. 1692, f 123 his his] his 1692, f 



SC. vi] The Magnetic Lady 47 

I dare to doe it ; and I dare profeffe 135 

The doing of it : being to fuch a Raskall, 

Who is the common offence growne of man-kind ; 

And worthy to be tome up from fociety. 

Com. You fhall not doe it here, Sir. Iro. Why ? 
will you 
Intreat your felfe, into a beating for him, mo 

My courteous brother ? If you will, have at you. 
No man deferves it better (now I thinke on't) 
Then you : that will keepe confort with fuch Fidlers, 
Pragmatick Flies, Fooles, Publicanes, and Moathes : 
And leave your honeft, and adopted brother. '45 

Int. 'Belt raife the houfe upon him, to fecure us ; 
Hee'll kill us all ! Pal. I love no blades in belts. 

Rut. Nor I. Bid. Would I were at my fhop againe, 
In Court, fafe ftow'd up, with my politique bundels. 

Com. How they are fcatter'd ! Iro. Run away Uke ^s° 
Cimici, 
Into the cranies of a rotten bed-ftead. 

Com. I told you fuch a paffage would difperfe 'hem, 
Although the houfe were their Fee-fimple in Law, 
And they poffeft of aU the bleffings in it. 

Iro. Pray heaven they be not frighted from their 'ss 
ftomacks : 
That fo my Ladies Table be disfurnifh'd 
Of the provifions ! Com. No, the Parfons calling 
By this time, all the covey againe, togethei. 
Here comes good tydings ! Dinners o' the boord. 



147 aU! [Exit. G 147 [Exit. G 148 I. [Exit. G 

149 [Exit. G 159 tydings !] Enter Pleasance. G 159 [Exit 

Ironside. G 



48 The Magnetic Lady [ACT II 

Act II. Scene VII. 
Compaffe. Pleafance. 

Com. Stay Mrs. Pleafance, I muft aske you a quef tion : 
Ha' you any fuites in Law ? Pie. I, Mr. Compaffe ? 

Com.. Anfwer me briefly, it is dinner time. 
They fay you have retain'd brisk Mr. Practife 
5 Here, of your Councell; and are to be joyn'd 
A Patentee with him. Pie. In what ? who fayes fo ? 
You are difpos'd to jeft. Cam. No, I am in eameft. 
It is given out i' the houfe fo, I affure you ; 
But keepe your right to your felfe, and not acquaint 
10 A common Lawyer with your cafe. If hee 
Once find the gap ; a thousand will leape after. 
He tell you more anone. Pie. This Riddle fhewes 
A little like a Love-trick, o' one face. 
If I could underftand it. I will ftudie it. 

Ckorus. 

Dam. But whom doth your Poet meane now by 
this — Mr. Bias ? what Lords Secretary, doth hee pur- 
pofe to perfonate, or perftringe ? 

Boy. You might as well aske mee, what Alderman, 
5 or Alder mans Mate, hee meant by Sir Moath Inter eft ? 
or what eminent Lawyer, by the ridiculous Mr. Practife ? 
who hath rather his name invented for laughter, then 
any offence, or injury it can ftick on the reverend Pro- 
feffors of the Law : And fo the wife ones will thinke. 
to Pro. It is an infidious Queftion, Brother Damplay ! 
Iniquity it felfe would not have urg'd it. It is picking 
the Lock of the Scene ; not opening it the faire way with 

Act . . . Pleafance.'l om. G 12 anone. [Exit. G 

14 [Exit. G Chorus.'] om. G 



SC. Vli] The Magnetic Lady 49 

a Key. A Play, though it apparell, and prelent vices 
in generall, flies from all particularities in perfons. Would 
you aske of Plautus, and Terence, (if they both liv'd »s 
now) who were Davus, or Pfeudolus in the Scene ? who 
Pyrgopolinices, or Thrafo ? who Euclio or Menede- 
mus ? 

Boy. Yes, he would : And inquue of Marital, or any 
other Epigrammati/t, whom he meant by Titius, or Seius ^<* 
(the common John d Noke, or lohn d Style) imder whom 
they note all vices, and errors taxable to the Times ? 
As if there could not bee a name for a FoUy fitted to the 
Stage, but there muft be a perfon in nature, found out 
to owne it. ^s 

Dam. Why, I can phant'Iie a perfon to my felfe Boy, 
who fhaU hinder me ? 

Boy. And, in not pubhfhing him, you doe no man 
an injury. But if you wiU utter your owne ill meaning 
on that perfon, under the Authors words, you make a Libell 3° 
of his Comcedy. 

Dam. O, hee told us that in a Prologue, long fince. 

Boy. If you doe the fame reprehenfible iU things, 
ftill the fame reprehenfion will ferve you, though you 
heard it afore : They are his owne words. I can invent as 
no better, nor he. 

Pro. It is the folemne vice of interpretation, that 
deformes the figure of many a faire Scene, by drawing 
it awry; and indeed is the civill murder of moft good 
Playes : If I fee a thing vively prefented on the Stage, 40 
that the Glaffe of cuftome (which is Comedy) is fo held 
up to me, by the Poet, as I can therein view the daily 
examples of mens hves, and images of Truth, in their 
manners, fo drawne for my delight, or profit, as I may 
(either way) ufe them : and wiU I, rather (then make 4s 
that true ufe) himt out the Perfons to defame, by my 
mahce of mifapplying? and imperiU the innocence, and 



50 The Magnetic Lady [act ji 

candor of the Author, by his calumnie? It is an un- 
juft way of hearing, and beholding Playes, this, and 
5° moft unbecomming a Gentleman to appeare mahgnantly 
witty in anothers Worke. 

Boy. They are no other but narrow, and fhrunke 
natures, fhriveld up, poore things, that cannot thinke 
well of themf elves, who dare to detract others. That 
55 Signature is upon them, and it will laft. A halfe-witted 
Barbarifme ! which no Barbers art, or his bals, will ever 
expunge or take out. 

Dam. Why, Boy ? This were a ftrange Empire, 
or rather a T5n"annie, you would entitle your Poet to, 
6o over Gentlemen, that they fhould come to heare, and fee 
Playes, and fay nothing for their money. 

Boy. O, yes ; fay what you will : fo it be to purpofe, 
and in place. 

Dam. Can any thing be out of purpofe at a Play ? 
65 I fee no reafon, if I come here, and give my eighteene 
pence, or two fhillings for my Seat, but I fhould take it 
out in cenfure, on the Stage. 

Boy. Your two f hilling worth is allow'd you : but 
you will take your ten f hilling worth, your twenty f hilling 
70 worth, and more : And teach others (about you) to doe 
the hke, that follow your leading face ; as if you were 
to cry up or downe every Scene, by confederacy, be it 
right or wrong. 

Dam. Who fhould teach us the right, or wrong at 
7s a Play ? 

Boy. If your owne fcience can not doe it, or the love 

of Modefty, and Truth ; all other intreaties, or attempts 

— are vaine. You are fitter Spectators for the Beares, 

then us, or the Puppets. This is a popular ignorance 

8° indeed, fomewhat better appareld in you, then the 

48 his] this W, f 



SC. vil] The Magnetic Lady 51 

People : but a hard handed, and Itiffe ignorance, worthy 
a Trewel, or a Hammer-man ; and not onely fit to be 
fcom'd, but to be triumph'd ore. Dam. By whom, 
Boy} 

Boy. No particular, but the general neglect, and ^s 
filence. Good Mafter Damplay, be your felfe ftill, 
without a fecond : Few here are of your opinion to day, 
I hope ; to morrow, I am fure there will bee none, when 
they have ruminated this. 

Pro. Let us mind what you come for, the Play, which 90 
will draw on to the Epitafis now. 



Act III. Scene I. 
Item. Needle. Keepe. Plea/ance. 

lem. Here's Mr. Doctor ? Nee. O Mr. Tim Item, 
His learned Pothecary ! you are welcome : 
He is within at dinner. Ite. Dinner ! Death ! 
That hee will eat now, having fuch a bufines. 
That fo concemes him ! Nee. Why, can any bufines 
Concerne a man like his meat ? Ite. O twenty millions, 
To a Phyfician, that's in practife : I 
Doe bring him newes, from all the points o' the Compaffe. 
(That's all the parts of the fublunary Globe.) 
Of times, and double times. Nee. In, in, fweet Item, 
And furnifh forth the Table with your newes : 
Defer ve your dinner : Sow out your whole bag full : 
The Guefts will heare it. Item. I heard they were out. 

Nee. But they are piec'd, and put together againe. 
You may goe in, you'l find them at high eating : 
The Par I on has an edifying ftomack. 
And a perfwading Palate (like his name : 

S. D. A Room in lady Loadstone's House. Enter Timothy Item, 
Needle, and Nurse Keep. G 7cw.] Item. 1692, f 



52 The Magnetic Lady [act III 

Hee hath begun three draughts of lack in Doctrines, 
And fower in Ufes. Ite. And they follow him. 
2° Nee. No, Sir Diaphanous is a Recufant 
In fack. He onely takes it in French wine. 
With an allay of water. In, in, Item, 
And leave your peeping. Kee. I have a moneths mind. 
To peepe a little too. Sweet Mas' Needle. 
25 How are they fet ? Nee. At the boords end my Lady — . 
Kee. And my young Mrs. by her ? Nee. Yes, the 
Parfon 
On the right hand (as hee'l not lofe his place 
For thrufting) and 'gainlt him Mrs. Polifh : 
Next, Sir Diaphanous, against Sir Moath ; 
3° Knights, one againe another: Then the Souldier, 
The man of warre, and man of peace the Lawyer : 
Then the pert Doctor, and the politique Bias, 
And Mr. Compaffe circumfcribeth aU. 

Pie. Nurfe Keepe, nurfe Keepel Nee. What noife 
is that within ? 
A noife Pie. Come to my Miftris, all their weapons are out. 
within. jy^^ Mifchiefe of men ! what day, what houre is this ? 
Kee. Run for the cellar of ftrong waters, quickly. 



Act in. Scene II. 
To them Compaffe. Iron/ide. 

after. 

Com. Were you a mad man to doe this at table ? 
And trouble all the Guelts, to affright the Ladies, 
And Gentlewomen ? Iro. Poxupo' your women. 
And your halfe man there. Court- Sir Amber-gris : 

23 peeping. [Exit Item. G 34 Pie. [within.] G 35 Pie. 

[within.] G 37 [Exeunt. G S. D. Another Room in the 

Same. Enter Ironside, followed by Compass. G 



sc. II The Magnetic Lady 53 

A perfum'd braggart : He muft drinke his wine 5 

With three parts water ; and have Amber in that too. 
Com. And you muft therefore breake his face with 

a Glaffe, 
And wafh his nofe in wine. Iro. Cannot he drinke 
In Orthodoxe, but he muft have his Gums, 
And Panym Drugs ? Com. You fhould have us'd the "» 

Glaffe 
Rather as ballance, then the fword of Juftice : 
But you have cut his face with it, he bleeds. 
Come you fhall take your Sanctuary with me ; 
The whole houfe will be up in armes 'gainst you elfe. 
Within this halfe houre ; this way to my lodging. »s 



Rut. Lady. Poli/h. Keepe, carrying Placentia over the 

Stage. 

Pleafance. Item. 

Rut. A moft rude action ! carry her to her bed ; 
And ufe the Fricace to her, with thofe oyles. 
Keepe your newes Item now, and tend this bufines. 

Lad. Good Goffip looke to her. Pol. How doe you 
fweet charge ? 

Kee. She's in a fweat. Pol. I, and a faint fweat «• 
mary. 

Rut. Let her alone to Tim : he has directions. 
He heare your newes Tim Item, when you ha' done. 

Lad. Was ever fuch a Gueft brought to my table ? 

Rut. Thefe boiftrous Souldiers ha' no better breeding. 

15 [Exeunt. G Scene III. Another Room in the Same. 
Enter Ruth, lady Loadstone, Polish, and Keep, carrying Pla- 
centia ; Pleasance and Item following. G 22 [Exeunt Item, 
Polish, Keep and Pleasance, with Placentia. G 25 comes :] Enter 
Compass. G 



54 The Magnetic Lady [ACT ill 

=5 Here Mr. Compafje comes : where's your Captaine, 
Rudhudibras de Ironside ? Com. Gone out of doores. 
Lad. Would he had nere come in them, I may wifh. 
He has difcredited my houfe, and boord, 
With his rude fwaggering manners, and endanger'd 

30 My Neices health (by drawing of his weapon) 
God knowes how farre ; for Mr. Doctor does not. 

Com. The Doctor is an Alfe then, if hee fay fo, 
And cannot with his conjuring names, Hippocrates ; 
Galen or Rafis, Avicen. Averroes, 

35 Cure a poore wenches falling in a fwoune : 
Which a poore Farthing chang'd in Rofa Jolis, 
Or Cynnamon water would. Lad. How now ? how 
does she ? 
Kee. Shee's fomewhat better, Mr. Item has brought her 
A httle about. Pol. But there's Sir Moath your 
brother 

40 Is falne into a fit o' the happyplexe, 
It were a happy place for him, and us, 
If he could fteale to heaven thus : All the houfe 
Are calling Mr. Doctor, Mr. Doctor. 
The Par f on he has gi'n him gone, this halfe houre ; 

-5 Hee's pale in the mouth already, for the feare 
O' the fierce Captaine. Lad. Helpe me to my Chamber, 
Nurfe Keepe : Would I could fee the day no more, 
But night hung over me, like fome darke cloud ; 
That, buried with this loffe of my good name, 

s° I, and my houfe might perifh, thus forgotten — 

Com. Her taking it to heart thus, more afflicts me 
Then all thefe accidents, for they'll blow over. 

25 Where's] Where is G. 37 would.] Re-enter Keep and 

Polish. G 43 [Exit Rut. G 50 [Exeunt Lady L., Keep, 

and Polish. G 



SC. Ill] The Magnetic Lady 55 

Act III. Scene III. 

Practife. Silkworme. Compaffe. 

Pra. It was a barbarous Injury, I confeffe : 
But if you will be counfell'd, Sir, by me, 
The reverend Law lies open to repaire 
Your reputation. That will gi' you damages ; 
Five thoufand pound for a finger, I have knowne 5 

Given in Court : And let me pack your Jury. 

Silk. There's nothing vexes me, but that he has ftaind 
My new white lattin Doublet ; and befpatter'd 
My fpick and fpan lilke Stockings, o' the day 
They were drawne on : And here's a Ipot i' my hole too. 1° 

Com. Shrewd maimes ! your Clothes are wounded 
defperately. 
And that (I thinke) troubles a Courtier more, 
An exact Courtier, then a gafh in his flelh. 

Silk. My flelh ? / Iweare had he giv'n me twice 
fo much, 
I never fhould ha' reckon'd it. But my clothes 15 

To be de defac'd, and ftigmatiz'd lo foulely ! 
I take it as a contumely done me 
Above the wifedome of our Lawes to right. 

Com. Why then you'l challenge him ? Silk. I will 
advife, 
Though Mr. Practise here doth urge the Law ; ^o 

And reputation it will make me of credit, 
Befide great damages (let him pack my Jury.) 

Com. He fpeales like Mr. Practife, one, that is 
The Child of a Profeffion he's vow'd too, 
And fervant to the ftudie he hath taken, "s 

A pure Apprentice at Law ! But you muf t have 

Act . . . Compajje.l Enter Practice and sir Diaphanous Silkworn. G 
21 reputation] reparation. W, f 



56 The Magnetic Lady [ACT HI 

The Counfell o' the Sword ; and fquare your action 

Vnto their Cannons, and that brother-hood, 

If you doe right. Pra. I tell you Mr. Compajje, 

3° You Ipeake not like a friend unto the Lawes, 
Nor fcarce a fubject, to perfwade him thus, 
Vnto the breach o' the peace : Sir you forget 
There is a Court above, o' the Starr e-Chamher, 
To punifh Routs and Riots. Com. No, young Malter, 

35 Although your name be Practije there in Terme time, 
I doe remember it. But you'l not heare 
What I was bound to fay ; but like a wild 
Young haggard Justice, fly at breach o' the Peace, 
Before you know, whether the amorous Knight 

4° Dares break the peace of confcience in a Duell. 

Silk. Troth Mr. Compajje, I take you my friend ; 
You fhall appoint of me in any matter 
That's reafonable, fo wee may meet faire, 
On even termes. Com. I fhall perfwade no other, 

*5 (And take your learned Counfell to advife you) 
He run along with him. You fay you'l meet him. 
On even termes. I doe not fee indeed 
How that can be, 'twixt Ironjide and you. 
Now I confider it. Hee is my brother. 

5° I doe confeffe (wee ha' call'd fo twenty yeare :) 
But you are. Sir, a Knight in Court, allied there. 
And fo befriended, you may eafily anfwer 
The worft fucceffe : He a knowne, noted, bold 
Boy o' the Sword, hath all mens eyes upon him; 

55 And there's no London-Iury, but are led 
In evidence, as farre by common fame. 
As they are by prefent depofition. 
Then you have many brethren, and neer kinfmen. 
If he kill you, it will be a lafting Quarrell 

^° T'wixt them, and him. Whereas Rud : Ironside 
Although he ha' got his head into a Beaver, 



SC. Ill] The Magnetic Lady 57 

With a huge feather, 's but a Corners fonne, 

And has not two old Cordov'an skins, to leave 

In Leather Caps to mourne him in, if he die. 

Againe, you are generally belov'd, he hated 6$ 

So much, that all the hearts, and votes of men 

Goe with you, in the wifhing all profperity 

Vnto your purpofe ; hee's a fat, corpulent, 

Vnweildy fellow : you, a dieted Sparke, 

Fit for the Combat. He has kild fo many ; 70 

As it is ten to one his turne is next ; 

You never fought with any ; leffe, flew any : 

And therefore have the hopes before you. 

I hope thefe things thus fpecified unto you. 

Are faire advantages : you cannot encounter 7S 

Him upon equall termes. Befide, Sir Silkworme, 

He hath done you wrong in a mof t high degree : 

And fenfe of fuch an Injury receiv'd. 

Should fo exacuate, and whet your choUer, 

As you fhould count your lelfe an holt of men, s© 

Compar'd to him. And therefore you, brave Sir, 

Have no more reafon to provoke, or challenge 

Him, then the huge great Porter has to try 

His ftrength upon an Infant. Silke. Mr. Compaffe, 

You rather fpur me on, then any way ss 

Abate my courage to the Enterprife, 

Com. All Counfell's as it's taken. If you ftand 
On point of honour, not t'have any odds, 
I have rather then diffwaded you, then otherwife : 
If upon termes of humour and revenge, 90 

I have encourag'd you. So that I thinke, 
I have done the part of a friend on either fide : 
In furnifhing your feare with matter firft, 



73 the hopes] the [better] hopes W, f 



58 The Magnetic Lady [act m 

If you have any : Or, if you dare fight, 

95 To heighten, and confirme your refolution. 

Pra. I now doe crave your pardon, Mr. Compafje : 
I did not apprehend your way before, 
The true Perimiter of it : you have Circles, 
And fuch fine draughts about ! Silke. Sir I doe thanke 
you, 

"° I thanke you Mr. Compafje heartily ; 
I muft confeffe, I never fought before. 
And I'll be glad to doe things orderly. 
In the right place : I pray you inftruct me. 
Is't belt I fight ambitioufly, or malitioufly ? 

"5 Com. Sir, if you never fought before, be wary, 

Truft not your felfe too much. Silke. Why ? I affure 

you, 
Fam very angry. Com. Doe not fuffer, though. 
The flatuous, windy choUer of your heart, 
To move the clapper of your underftanding, 

no Which is the guiding faculty, your reafon: 

You know not, if you'l fight, or no, being brought 
Vpo' the place. Silke. O yes, I have imagin'd 
Him treble arm'd, provok'd too, and as furious 
As Homer makes Achilles; and I find 

"5 My felfe not frighted with his fame one jot. 

Com. Well, yet take heed. Thefe fights imaginary. 
Are leffe then skirmifhes ; the fight of fhadowes : 
For fhadowes have their figure, motion 
And their umbratile action from the reall 

120 Pofture, and motion of the bodies act : 
Whereas (imaginarily) many times. 
Those men may fight, dare fcarce eye one another. 
And much leffe meet. But if there be no helpe, 
Faith I would wifh you, fend him a faire Challenge. 

102 I'll] I'd. G 103 inltruct me.] instruct me, sir : G 



SC. IV] The Magnetic Lady 59 

Silk. I will goe pen it prefently. Com. But word it '^s 
In the moft generous termes. 5*7^. Let me alone. 
Pra. And lilken phrale : the courtlieft kind of Quarrell. 
Com. HeH make it a petition for his peace. 
Pra. O, yes, of right, and hee may doe it by Law. 



Act III. Scene IV. 

Rut. Palate, Bias, bringing out Interejt in a Chaire. 

Item. Polijh following. 

Rut. Come, bring him out into the aire a little : 
There fet him downe. Bow him, yet bow him more, 
Dafh that fame Glaffe of water in his face : 
Now tweak him by the nofe. Hard, harder yet : 
If it but call the blood up from the heart, 5 

I aske no more. See, what a feare can doe ! 
Pinch him in the nape of the neck now : nip him, nip him. 
Ite. He feeles, there's life in him. Pal. He graones, 

and ftirres. 
Rut. Tell him the Captaine's gone. Int. Ha ! Pal. 

He's gone Sir. 
Rid. Gi' him a box, hard, hard, on his left eare. 10 
Int. O ! Rut. How doe you feele your felfe ? Int. 

Sore, fore. 
Rut. But where ? 
Int. V my neck. Rut. I nipt him there. Int. 

And i' my head. 
Rut. I box'd him twice, or thrice, to move thofe 

Sinnewes. 
Bia. I fweare you did. Pol. What a brave man's 15 
a Doctor, 

129 [Exeunt. G S. D. Another Room in the Same. Enter 

Rut— etc. G 8 graones] groans, 1692, f 

E 



6o The Magnetic Lady [ACT III 

To beat one into health ! I thought his blowes 
Would eene ha' kild him: hee did feele no more 
Then a great horle. Int. Is the wild Captaine gone ? 
That man of murther ? Bia. All is calme and quiet. 

2° Int. Say you fo, Cofen Bias ? Then all's well. 

Pal. How quickly a man is loft! Bia. And foone 

recover'd ! 
Pol. Where there are meanes, and Doctors, learned men. 
And their Apothecaries, who are not now, 
(As Chawcer fayes) their friendfhip to begin. 

25 Well, could they teach each other how to win 
I' their fwath bands — . Ritt. Leave your Poetry good 

Goffip. 
Your Chawcers clouts, and wafh your difhes with 'hem, 
Wee muft rub up the roots of his difeafe. 
And crave your peace awhile, or elfe your abfence. 

30 Pol. Nay, I know when to hold my peace. Rut. 
Then do it. 
Gi' me your hand Sir Moath. Let's feele your pulfe. 
It is a Purfineffe, a kind of Stoppage, 
Or tumor o' the Purfe, for want of exercife. 
That you are troubled with : fome ligatures 

3s I'th neck of your Vefica, or Marfupium, 
Are fo clofe knit, that you cannot evaporate ; 
And therefore you muft ufe relaxatives. 
Befide, they fay, you are fo reftive growne, 
You cannot but with trouble put your hand 

40 Into your pocket, to difcharge a reckoning. 
And this we fonnes of Phyfick doe call chiragra, 
A kind of Crampe, or Hand-Gout. You fhall purge for't. 
Ite. Indeed your worf hip f hould doe well to ' advif e him. 
To clenfe his body, all the three high wayes ; 

45 That is, by Sweat, Purge, and Phlebotomy. 

23 now,] new 



SC. rv] The Magnetic Lady 6i 

Rut. You fay well learned Tim, He firft prefcribe him. 
To give his purfe a purge once, twice a weeke 
At Dice, or Cards : And when the weather is open, 
Sweat at a bowling Alley ; or be let blood 
I' the lending veine, and bleed a matter of fifty, so 

Or threefcore ounces at a time. Then put 
Your thumbs under your Girdle, and have fome body 
Elfe, pull out your purfe for you, till with more cafe, 
And a good habit, you can doe it your felfe. 
And then be fure alwayes to keepe good diet ; ss 

And h' your table furnifh'd from one end, 
Vnto the tother : It is good for the eyes, 
But feed you on one difh ftill, ha' your Diet-drinke, 
Ever in Bottles ready, which muft come 
From the Kings-head: I will prefcribe you nothing, 6° 

But what He take before you mine owne felfe : 
That is my courfe with all my Patients. 

Pal. Very methodicall. Secundum Artem. 

Bia. And very fafe pro captu recipientis. 

Pol. All errant learned men, how they 'fpute Latine ! 6s 

Rut. I had it of a Jew, and a great Rabbi, 
Who every morning caft his cup of White-wine 
With fugar, and by the refidence i' the bottome. 
Would make report of any Chronick malady, 
Such as Sir MoatKs is, being an oppilation, 70 

In that you call the neck o' the money bladder, 
Moft anatomicall, and by diffection. ^"^^^ ^■^rf''- 

Kee. O Mr, Doctor, and his Pothecary ! 
Good Mr. Item, and my Miftris Polijh ! 



51 — 53 Or three score ounces at a time : then put your thumbs 

Under your girdle, and have somebody else 

Pull out your purse for you, till with more ease, G 

72 Enter Nurse Keep, hastily. G 

E2 



62 The Magnetic Lady [ACT in 

75 Wee need you all above ! Shee's falne againe, 

In a worfe fit then ever. Pol. Who ? Kee. Your charge. 
Pol. Come away Gentlemen. Int. This fit with 
the Doctor, 
Hath mended me paft expectation. 



Act III. Scene V. 

Compaffe. Diaphanous. Practife. Bias. Ironfide. 

Com. O Sir Diaphanous, ha' you done ? Dia. I ha' 

brought it. 
Pra. That's well. Com. But who Ihall carry it 
now ? Dia. A friend : 
He find a friend to carry it ; Mr. Bias here 
Will not deny me that. Bia. What is't ? Dia. To 
carry 
5 A Challenge I have writ unto the Capteine. 

Bias. Faith but I will Sir, you fhall pardon me 
For a twi-reafon of State : He beare no Challenges ; 
I will not hazard my Lords favour fo ; 
Or forfeit mine owne Judgement with his honour, 
to To turne a Ruffian : I have to commend me 
Nought but his Lordfhips good opinion — 
And to't my Kallygraphy, a faire hand. 
Fit for a Secretary : Now you know, a mans hand 
Being his executing part in fight, 
15 Is more obnoxious to the common perill — 

Dia. You fhall not fight Sir, you fhall onely fearch 
My Antagonift ; commit us fairely there 
Vpo' the ground on equall termes. Bia. O Sir ! 
But if my Lord fhould heare I ftood at end 

78 [Exeunt all but Bias. G Act . . . Iron/ide.] Enter 

Compass, sir Diaphanous Silkworm, and Practice. G 



sc. v] The Magnetic Lady 63 

Of any quarrell, 'twere an end of me ^o 

In a ftate courle ! I ha' read the Pohtiques ; 
And heard th' opinions of our belt Divines. 

Com. The Gentleman has reafon! Where was firft 
The birth of your acquaintance ? or the Cradle 
Of your stricktfriendf hip made ? Dia. WemetinjPmwc^, Sir. ^s 

Com. In France ! that Garden of humanity, 
The very feed-plot of all courtefies : 
I wonder that your friendfhip fuck'd that aliment, 
The milke of France ; and fee this fower effect 
It doth produce, 'gainst all the fweets of travell : 30 

There, every Gentleman profeffing armes, 
Thinkes he is bound in honour to imbrace 
The bearing of a Challenge for another. 
Without or queftioning the caufe, or asking 
Leaft colour of a reafon. There's no Cowardize, 35 

No Poultrounerie, like urging why ? wherefore ? 
But carry a Challenge, die, and doe the thing. 

Bia. Why, heare you Mr. Compaffe, I but crave 
Your eare in private ? I would carry his Challenge, 
If I but hop'd your Captaine angry enough *° 

To kill him : For (to tell you truth) this Knight, 
Is an impertinent in Court (wee thinke him :) 
And troubles my Lords Lodgings, and his Table 
With frequent, and unneceffary vifits. 
Which wee (the better fort of Servants) like not : *^ 

Being his Fellowes in all other places. 
But at our Mafters boord ; and we disdaine 
To doe thofe lervile offices, oft times, 
His foolifh pride, and Empire will exact, 
Againft the heart, or humour of a Gentleman. s<» 

Com. Truth Mr. Bias, I'ld not ha' you thinke 
I fpeake to flatter you: but you are one 

37 die, and doe the thing.] do the thing, and die. G 39 private ? 
[takes him aside.] G 



64 The Magnetic Lady [act III 

O' the deepeft Politiques I ever met, 
And the moft lubtily rationall. I admire you. 
55 But doe not you conceive in luch a cafe, 
That you are accelfary to his death, 
From whom you carry a Challenge with luch purpofe. 

Bia. Sir the corruption of one thing in nature, 
Is held the Generation of another ; 
6° And therefore, I had as leive be acceffory 
Vnto his death, as to his life. Com. A new 
Morall Philofophy too ! you'l carry't then. 

Bia. If I were fure, 't would not incenfe his choller 
To beat the Meffenger. Com. O' He fecure you, 
65 You fhall deliver it in my lodging ; fafely. 
And doe your friend a fervice worthy thankes. 

Bia. He venture it, upon fo good Induction, 
To rid the Court of an Impediment, 
This baggage Knight. Iro. Peace to you all Gentlemen, 
Enter Iron- Savc to this Mufhromc ; who I heare is menacing 
^"^^' Me with a Challenge : which I come to anticipate, 
And fave the Law a labour : Will you fight Sir ? 

Dia. Yes, in my fhirt. Iro. O, that's to fave your 
doublet ; 
I know it a Court trick ! you had rather have 
75 An Vlcer in your body, then a Pinke 
More i' your clothes. Dia. Captaine, you are a Coward, 
If you not fight i' your fhirt. Iro. Sir I not meane 
To put it off for that, nor yet my doublet : 
Yo' have caufe to call me Coward, that more feare 
8° The ftroke of the common, and life giving aire. 
Then all your fury, and the Panoplie. 

Pra. (Which is at beft, but a thin linnen armour.) 
I thinke a cup of generous wine were better, 

66 Enter Ironside. G 73 fhirt.] Throws off his doublet. G 

77 you] you'll 1692, f I not meane] I do not mean 1692, f 



SC. v] The Magnetic Lady 65 

Then fighting i' your fhirts. Dia. Sir, Sir, my valour, 
It is a valour of another nature, 85 

Then to be mended by a cup of wine. 

Com. I fhould be glad to heare of any valours, 
Differing in kind ; who have knowne hitherto, 
Only one vertue, they call Fortitude, 

Worthy the name of valour. Iro. Which, who hath not, 9° 
Is juftly thought a Coward : And he is fuch. 

Dia. O, you ha' read the Play there, the New Inne, 
Of lonjons, that decries all other valour 
But what is for the publike. Iro. I doe that too, 
But did not learne it there ; I thinke no valour 95 

Lies for a private caufe. Dia. Sir, He redargue you, 
By difputation. Com. O let's heare this ! 
I long to heare a man difpute in his fhirt 
Of valour, and his fword drawne in his hand. 

Pra. His valour will take cold ; put on your doublet. 1°° 

Com. His valour will keepe cold, you are deceiv'd ; 
And relifli much the fweter in our eares : 
It may be too, i' the ordinance of nature. 
Their valours are not yet fo combatant. 
Or truly antagoniftick, as to fight ; ^°5 

But may admit to heare of fome divifions, 
Of Fortitude, may put 'hem off their Quarrell. 

Dia. I would have no man thinke me fo ungovern'd. 
Or fubject to my paffion, but I can 

Reade him a Lecture 'twixt ma undertakings, "<> 

And executions : I doe know all kinds 
Of doing the bufines, which the Towne cals valour. 

Com. Yes, he has read the Towne, Towne-top's his 
Author ! 
Your firft ? Dia. Is a rafh head-long unexperience. 

Com. Which is in Children, Fooles, or your ftreet "5 
Gallants 
O' the firft head. Pra. A pretty kind of valour ! 



66 The Magnetic Lady [act hi 

Com. Commend him, he will fpin it out in 's fhirt, 
Fine, as that thred. Dia. The next, an indifcreet 
Prelumption, grounded upon often f capes. 
"° Com. Or th' infufficiencie of Adverfaries, 
And this is in your common fighting Brothers. 
Your old Perdu's, who (after a time) doe thinke, 
The one, that they are fhot free ; the other, fword free. 
Your third ? Dia. Is nought but an exceffe of choUer, 
'25 That raignes in telty old men — . Com. Noble mens Porters, 
And felfe conceited Poets. Dia. And is rather 
A peevifhneffe, then any part of valour. 

Pra. He but reherfes, he concludes no valour. 
Com. A hiftory of hiftory of diftempers, as they are 
practiz'd, 
'30 His Harangue undertaketh, and no more. 

Your next ? Dia. Is a dull defperate refolving. 

Com. In cafe of fome neceffitous mifery, or 
Incumbent mifchiefe. Pra. Narrowneffe of mind, 
Or ignorance being the root of it. 
'35 Dia. Which fhou fhall find in Gamefters, quite 
blowne up. 
Com. Banckrupt Merchants, undif covered Tray tors. 
Pra. Or your exemplified Malefactors, 
That have furviv'd their infamy, and punifhment. 
Com. One that hath loft his eares, by a juft fentence 
'40 O' the Starr e-Chamber, a right valiant Knave — 
And is a Hijtrionicall Contempt, 
Of what a man feares moft ; it being a mifchiefe 
In his owne apprehenfion unavoidable. 

Pra. Which is in Cowards wounded mortally, 
'45 Or Theeves adjudg'd to die. Com. This is a valour, 
I fhould defire much to fee incourag'd : 
As being a fpeciall entertainment 
For our rogue People ; and make oft good fport 
Vnto 'hem, from the GaUowes to the ground. 



I 



sc. v] The Magnetic Lady 67 

Dia. But mine is a Judiciall refolving, ^so 

Or liberal! undertaking of a danger — . 

Com. That might be avoided. Dia. I, and with 
aflurance, 
That it is found in Noble-men, and Gentlemen, 
Of the beft Iheafe. Com. Who having lives to lofe. 
Like private men, have yet a world of honour, ^ss 

And publike reputation to defend — . 

Dia. Which in the brave hiftorified Greeks, 
And Romans you fhall reade of. Com. And (no doubt) 
May in our Alder-men meet it, and their Deputies, 
The Souldiers of the Citie, valiant blades, ^^o 

Who (rather then their houfes fhould be ranfack'd) 
Would fight it out, like fo many wild beafts ; 
Not for the fury they are commonly arm'd with: 
But the clofe manner of their fight, and cuftome, 
Of joyning head to head, and foot to foot. ^H 

Iro. And which of thefe fo well-preft relolutions 
Am I to encounter now ? For commonly. 
Men that have fo much choife before 'hem, have 
Some trouble to refolve of any one. 

Bia. There are three valours yet, which Sir Dia- ^t> 
phanous, 
Hath (with his leave) not touch'd. Dia. Yea ? which 
are thofe ? 

Pya. He perks at that ! Com. Nay, h3 does more, 
he chatters. 

Bia. A Philofophicall contempt of death, 
Is one : Then an infufed kind of valour. 
Wrought in us by our Genii, or good fpirits ; 17s 

Of which the gallant Ethnicks had deepe fenfe : 
Who generally held, that no great Statef-man, 
SchoUer, or Souldier, ere did any thing 
Sine divino aliquo afflatu. 

Pra. But there's a Chriftian valour, 'bove thefe too. i8<> 



68 The Magnetic Lady [act III 

Bid. Which is a quiet patient toleration, 

Of whatfoever the malitious world 

With Injury doth unto you ; and confifts 

In paffion, more then action, Sir Diaphanous. 
'85 Dia. Sure, I doe take mine to be Chriltian valour — . 
Com. You may miftake though. Can you juftifie 

On any caule, this feeking to deface. 

The divine Image in a man ? Bia. O Sir ! 

Let 'hem alone : Is not Diaphanous 
^9° As much a divine Image, as is Ironfide ? 

Let Images fight, if they will fight, a God's name. 



Act III. Scene VI. 

To them infer- Kcepe. Needle. Inter eft. 

vening. 

Kee. Where's Mr. Needle ? Saw you Mr. Needle ? 
Wee are undone. Com. What ailes the frantick Nurfe ? 

Kee. My Miftris is undone, fhee's crjdng out ! 
Where is this man trow ? Mr. Needle ? Nee. Here. 
5 Kee. Run for the party, Mrs. Chaire the Mid-wife. 
Nay, looke how the man ftands, as he were gok't ! 
Shee's loft, if you not hafte away the party. 
Nee. Where is the Doctor ? Kee. "SVhere a fcoffing 
man is. 
And his Apothecary, little better ; 
10 They laugh, and geere at all : will you dif patch ? 
And fetch the party quickly to our Miftris : 
Wee are all undone ! The Timpanie will out elfe. 
Int. Newes, newes, good newes, better then butter'd 
newes ! 
My Neice is found with Child, the Doctor tels me. 

Act . . . Intere/t.] Enter Nurse Keep hastily. G 4 Needle ?] 
Enter Needle. G 4 [Takes her aside. G 12 [Exeunt 

Needle and Keep. Enter sir Moth Interest. G 



SC. vi] The Magnetic Lady 69 

And falne in labour. Com. How ? Int. The portion's ^s 

paid ! 
The portion — o' the Captaine ! Is he here ? Exit. 

Pra. H' has fpi'd your fwords out ! put 'hem up, 
put up, 
Yo' have driven him hence ; and yet your quarrel's ended. 
Iro. In a moft Itrange dilcovery. Pra. Of light gold. 
Dia. And crack't within the Ring. I take the Omen, '^° 
As a good Omen. Pra. Then put up your Sword, 
And on your Doublet. Give the Captaine thankes. 
Dia. I had beene flur'd elfe. Thanke you noble 
Captaine : 
Your quarrelling caus'd all this. Iro. Where's Com- 

pa/fe ? Pra. Gone, 
Shrunke hence ; contracted to his Center, I feare. ^j 

Iro. The flip is his then. Dia. I had like t' have 
beene 
Abus'd i' the bufines, had the flip flur'd on me, 
A Counterfeit. Bias. Sir, we are all abus'd : 
As many as were brought on to be Suitors ; 
And we will ]oyne in thankes, all to the Captaine, 3» 

And to his fortune that fo brought us off. 



Cko 



rus. 



Dam, This was a pittifull poore fhift o' your Poet, 
Boy, to make his prime woman with child, and faU in 
labour, juft to compofe a quarrell. 

Boy. With whofe borrowed eares, have you heard, 
Sir, all this while, that you can miftake the current of 
our Scene fo ? The ftreame of the Argument, threatned 
her being with child from the very beginning, for it 

15 How ? [Exit. G [Exit. G 31 [Exeunt. G 

Chorus."] om. G 



70 The Magnetic Lady [ACT III 

prefented her in the firft of the fecond Act, with fome 
apparent note of infirmity, or defect : from knowledge 

'° of which, the Auditory were rightly to bee fufpended by 
the Author, till the quarrell, which was but the accidentall 
caufe, haftned on the difcovery of it, in occafioning her 
affright ; which made her fall into her throwes prefently, 
and within that compaffe of time allow'd to the Comedy, 

^5 wherein the Poet expreft his prime Artifice, rather then 

any errour, that the detection of her being with child, 

fhould determine the quarrell, which had produc'd it. 

Pro. The Boy is too hard for you. Brother Damplay, 

beft marke the Play, and let him alone. 

2° Dam. I care not for marking the Play : He damne it, 
talke, and doe that I come for. I will not have Gentlemen 
lofe their priviledge, nor I my felfe my prerogative, 
for neere an overgrowne, or fuperannuated Poet of 'hem 
all. Hee fhall not give me the Law ; I will cenfure, and 

^5 be witty, and take my Tobacco, and enjoy my Magna 
Charta of reprehenfion, as my Predeceffors have done 
before me. 

Boy. Even to licenfe, and abfurdity. 

Pro. Not now, becaufe the Gentlewoman is in travell : 

30 and the Midwife may come on the fooner, to put her and 
us out of our paine. 

Dam. Well, looke to your bufines afterward, Boy, 
that all things bee cleare, and come properly forth, 
fuited, and fet together ; for I will fearch what foUowes 

35 feverely and to the naile. 

Boy. Let your naile run fmooth then, and not 
f cratch : left the Author be bold to pare it to the quick, 
and make it fmart : you'l find him as fevere as your 
felfe. 

40 Dam. A fhrewd Boy! and has mee every where. 
The Mid-wife is come, fhe has made hafte. 



ACT IV, SC. i] The Magnetic Lady 71 



c 



Act nil. Scene I. 

Chaire. Needle. Keepe. 
Ha. Stay Mr. Needle, you doe prick too faft 



Vpo' the bufines : I muft take fome breath ; 
Lend me my ftoole, you ha' drawne a ftitch upon me. 
In faith, fonne Needle, with your halte. 
Nee. Good Mother, peice up this breach ; He gi' you 
a new Gowne, 
A new filke-Grogoran Gowne. He do't Mother. 

Kee. What '11 you doe ? you ha' done too much 
alread}'- 
With your prick-Ieame, and through-Ititch. Mr. Needle, 
I pray you fit not fabling here old tales. 
Good Mother Chaire, the Mid-wife, but come up. 



Act nil. Scene II. 

Compajje. Keepe. Practi/e. 

Com. How now Nurfe, where's my Lady ? Kee. In 
her Chamber 
Lock'd up, I thinke : fhee'll fpeake with no body. 

Com. Knowes fhee o' this accident ? Kee. Alas 
Sir, no ; 
Would fhe might never know it. Pra. I thinke her 

Ladifhip 
Too vertuous, and too nobly innocent, 5 

To have a hand in fo ill-form 'd a bufines. 



S. D. A room in lady Loadstone's House. Enter mother Chair, 
and Needle. G 6 Enter Nurse Keep. G 10 [Exeunt Chair 

and Needle. G Act . . . Practi/e.] Enter Compass and Prac- 

tice. G 4 it. [Exit. G 



72 The Magnetic Lady [ACT IIII 

Com. Youi thought Sir is a brave thought, and a 
lafe one. 
The child now to be borne is not more free, 
From the afperlion of all fpot, then fhe ? 
lo She have her hand in plot, 'gainft Mr. Practije. 
If there were nothing elfe, whom fhe fo loves ? 
Cries up, and values ? knowes to be a man 
Mark'd out, for a chiefe Justice in his cradle ? 
Or a Lord Paramount ; the head o' the Hall ? 
'5 The Top, or the Top-gallant of our Law ? 
Affure your felfe, fhe could not fo deprave. 
The rectitude of her Judgement, to wifh you 
Vnto a wife, might prove your Infamy, 
Whom fhe efteem'd that part o' the Common-wealth, 
20 And had up for honour to her blood. 

Pra. I muft confeffe a great beholdingneffe 
Vnto her Ladifhips offer, and good wifhes. 
But the truth is, I never had affection, 
Or any liking to this Neice of hers. 
25 Com. You fore-faw fomewhat then ? Pra. I had 
my notes. 
And my Prognof ticks. Com. You read Almanacks, 
And ftudy 'hem to fome purpofe, I beleeve ? 

Pra. I doe confeffe, I doe beleeve, and pray too : 
According to the Planets at fometimes. 
30 Com. And doe obferve the figne in making Love ? 
Pra. As in Phlebotomy. Com. And choofe your 
Miftris 
By the good dayes, and leave her by the bad ? 

Pra. I doe, and I doe not. Com. A little more 
Would fetch all his Aftronomie from Allejtree. 
35 Pra. I tell you Mr. Compajfe, as my friend, 
And under feale, I caft mine eye long fince, 

20 had up] had [raised] up G 



SC. Il] The Magnetic Lady 73 

Vpo' the other wench, my Ladies woman, 

Another manner of peice for handfomneffe. 

Then is the Neice (but that is juh figillo, 

And as I give it you) in hope o' your aid, 

And counfell in the bufines. Com. You need counfell ? 

The only famous Counfell, o' the kingdome. 

And in all Courts ? That is a Jeere in faith. 

Worthy your name, and your profeffion too, 

Sharpe Mr. Pradife. Pra. No, upo' my Law. 

As I am a Bencher, and now double Reader, 

I meant in meere fimplicity of requeft. 

Com. If you meant fo. Th' affaires are now per- 
plex'd. 
And full of trouble, give 'hem breath, and fetling. 
He doe my beft. But in meane time doe you 
Prepare the Par I on. (I am glad to know 
This ; for my felfe lik'd the young Maid before, 
And lov'd her too.) Ha' you a Licence? Pra. No; 
But I can fetch one ftraight. Com. Doe, doe, and mind 
The Parsons pint t'ingage him — the bufines ; 
A knitting Cup there muft be. Pra. I fhall doe it. 



Act IV. Scene III. 
Bias. Interejt. Compaffe. 

Bia. Tis an affront, from you Sir ; you here brought me 
Vnto my Ladies, and to wooe a wife, 
Which fince is prov'd a crack'd commoditie ; 
Shee hath broke bulke too foone. Int. No fault of 

mine, 
If fhe be crack'd in peeces, or broke round ; 

46 I am] I'm W 53 too [Aside.] G 55 —the bu- 

fines ;] in the business. W, f 56 [Exit. G Act . . . 

Compa/fe.'] Enter Bias, and sir Moth Interest. G 



74 The Magnetic Lady [ACT rv 

It was my filters fault, that ownes the houfe, 
Where fhe hath got her clap, makes all this noife. 
I keepe her portion fafe, that is not fcatter'd : 
The money's rattle not ; nor are they throwne, 
»° To make a Muffe, yet 'mong the gamefome Suitors. 
Com. Can you endure that flout, clofe Mr. Bias, 
And have beene fo bred in the Politiques ? 
The injury is done you, and by him only ; 
He lent you impreft money, and upbraids it : 
»5 Furnifh'd you for the wooing, and now waves you, 
Bia. That makes me to expoftulate the wrong 
So with him, and refent it as I doe. 
Com. But doe it home then. Bia. Sir, my Lord 

Ihall know it. 
Com. And all the Lords o' the Court too. Bia. 
What a Moath 
=o You are Sir Intereft ! Int. Wherein I intreat you, 
Sweet Mafter Bias ? Com. To draw in young Statef-men, 
And heires of policie into the noofe 
Of an infamous matrimonie. Bia. Yes. 
Infamous, quasi in communem famam : 
^5 And Matrimony, quaji, matter of Money. 

Com. Learnedly urg'd, my cunning Mr. Bias. 
Bia. With his lewd, knowne, and proftituted Neice. 
Int. My knowne, and proftitute : how you miftake. 
And run upon a falfe ground, Mr. Bias ! 
30 (Your Lords will doe me right.) Now, fhe is proftitute, 
And that I know it (pleafe you underftand me.) 
I meane to keepe the portion in my hands : 
And pay no monies. Com. Marke you that Don Bias ? 
And you fhall ftill remaine in bonds to him, 
35 For wooing furniture, and impreft charges. 

Int. Good Mr. Compajfe, for the fummes he has had 
Of me, I doe acquit him : They are his owne. 
Here, before you, I doe releale him. Com. Good ! 



SC. iv] The Magnetic Lady 75 

Bia. O Sir. Com. 'Slid take it : I doe witneffe it : 
Hee cannot hurle away his money better. 

Int. He fhall get fo much Sir, by my acquaintance, 
To be my friend : And now report to his Lords 
As I delerve no otherwife. Com. But well : 
And I will witneffe it, and to the value ; 
Foure hundred is the price, if I miftake not. 
Of your true friend in Court, Take hands, you ha' 

bought him, 
And bought him cheap. Bia. I am his worfhips fervant. 

Com. And you his flave, Sir Moath. Seal'd, and 
deliver'd. 
Ha' you not ftudied the Court Complement ? 
Here are a paire of Humours, reconcil'd now. 
That money held at diftance : or their thoughts, 
Bafer then money. 



Act IV. Scene IV. 
Polish. Keepe. Compajfe. 

Pol. Out thou catife witch ! 
Baud, Beggar, Gipfey : Anything indeed. 
But honeft woman. Kce. What you pleafe, Dame 

Polijh, 
My Ladies Stroaker. Com. What is here to doe ? 
The Goffips out ! Pol. Thou art a Tray tor to me. 
An Eve, the Apul, and the Serpent too : 
A Viper, that haft eat a paffage through me. 
Through mine owne bowels, by thy ret chief neffe. 

Com. What frantick fit is this ? He ftep afide 
And hearken to it. Pol. Did I truft thee, wretch, 

49 [Exeunt Sir Moth and Bias. G Act . . . Compaffe.} 

Enter Polish driving in Nurse Keep. G 5 out ! [Aside. G 

ID it. [Retires. G 

F 



76 The Magnetic Lady [act iv 

With fuch a fecret, of that confequence, 
Did lo conceme me, and my child, our hvehhood, 
And reputation ? And haft thou undone us ? 
By thy connivence, nodding in a corner, 
15 And fuffering her begot with child fo bafely ? 
Sleepie unlucky Hag ! Thou bird of night, 
And all mif chance to me. Kee. Good Lady Empreffe ! 
Had I the keeping of your Daughters clicket 
In charge ? was that committed to my truft ? 
=0 Com. Her Daughter ? Pol. Softly Divell, not fo 
low'd, 
You'ld ha' the houfe heare, and be witneffe, would you ? 

Kee. Let all the world be witneffe. Afore lie 
Endure the Tyrannic of fuch a tongue — 
And fuch a pride — . Pol. What will you doe ? Kee. 
Tell truth, 
25 And fhame the She-man-Divell in puff 'd fleeves ; 
Run any hazzard, by revealing all 
Vnto my Lady : how you chang'd the cradles, 
And chang'd the children in 'hem. Pol. Not fo high ! 
Kee. Calling your Daughter Pleajance, there Pla- 
centia, 
30 And my true Miftris by the name of Pleajance. 

Com. A horrid fecret, this ! worth the difcovery ; 
Pol. And muft you be thus lowd ? Kee. I will 
be lowder : 
And cry it through the houfe, through every roome, 
And every office of the Lawndry-maids : 
35 Till it be borne hot to my Ladies eares. 
Ere I will live in fuch a flavery. 
He doe away my felfe. Pol. Didft thou not fweare 
To keepe it fecret ? and upon what booke ? 
(I doe remember now) The Practice of Piety. 

20 Daughter ? [Aside. G 



sc. v] The Magnetic Lady yy 

Kee. It was a practice of impiety, 4° 

Out of your wicked forge, I know it now, 
My confcience tels me. Firft, againlt the Infants, 
To rob them o' their names, and their true parents ; 
T' abufe the neighbour-hood, keepe them in errour ; 
But moft my Lady : Shee has the maine wrong : +s 

And I wil let her know it inftantly. 
Repentance, (if it be true) nere comes too late. 

Pol. What have I done ? Conjur'd a fpirit up 
I fha' not lay againe ? drawne on a danger, 
And ruine on my felfe thus, by provoking s<» 

A peevifh foole, whom nothing will pray of. 
Or fatisfie I feare ? Her patience ftirr'd, 
Is tum'd to fury. I have run my Barke, 
On a fweet Rock, by mine owne arts, and truft : 
And muft get off againe, or dafh in peeces. 55 

Com. This was a bufines, worth the liftning after. 



Act nil. Scene V. 

Pleajance. Compaffe. 

Pie. O Mr. Compaffe, did you fee my Mother ? 
Miftris Placentia, my Ladies Neice ; 
Is newly brought to bed o' the braveft boy ! 
Will you goe fee it ? Com. Firft, He know the father. 
Ere I approach thefe hazards. Pie. Miftris Midwife 
Has promis'd to find out a father for it. 
If there be need. Com. Shee may the fafelier do't. 
By vertue of her place. But pretty Pleafance, 
I have a newes for you, I thinke will pleafe you. 

47 [Exit. G 51 of,] off 1692, f 55 [Exit. G 56 Com. 

[coming forward.] G Act . . . Compa/je.] Enter Pleasance. G 

F2 



78 The Magnetic Lady [ACT rv 

'° Pie. What is't Mr. Compa/fe ? Com. Stay, you 
muft 
Delerve it ere you know it. Where's my Lady ? 
Pie. Retir'd unto her Chamber, and fhut up. 
Com. She heares o' none o' this 3/et ? well, doe you 
Command the Coach ; and fit your felfe to travell 
^s A little way with me. Pie. Whither, for Gods fake ? 
Com. Where He intreat you not to your loffe, beleeve it. 
If you dare truft yourfelfe. Pie. With you the world 
ore. 
Com. The newes will well requite the paines, I affure 
you. 
And i' this tumult you will not be mift. 
2° Command the Coach, it is an inftant bufines, 
Wu' not be done without you. Parfon Palate 
Moft opportunely met, ftep to my Chamber : 
He come to you prefently. There is a friend. 
Or two, will entertaine you. Mr. Practije, 
=5 Ha' you the Licence ? 



Act IV. Scene VL 
Practije. Compa/fe. Pleafance. Palate. 

Pra. Here it is. Com. Let's fee it : 
Your name's not in't. Pra. He fill that prefently ; 
It has the Scale, which is the maine: And regiftred, 
The Clarke knowes me, and trufts me. Com. Ha' 
you the Parfon ? 

Pra. They fay hee's here, he' pointed to come hither. 

Com. I would not have him feene here for a world. 
To breed fupition. Doe you intercept him, 

21 you. [Exit Pleasance. G [Enter Palate. G 24 you. Exit 
Palate. G Enter Practice. G Act . . . Palate.] om. G 



SC. Vl] The Magnetic Lady 79 

And prevent that. But take your Licence with you, 

And fill the blanke : or leave it here with me, 

He doe it for you, ftay you with us at his Church, ^° 

Behind the old Exchange, we'll come i' th Coach, 

And meet you there within this Quarter at leaft. 

Pra. I am much bound unto you, Mr. Compajfe, 
You have all the Law, and parts of Squire Practije 
For ever at your ufe. He tell you newes, too : 's 

Sir, your Reverlion's fall'n : Thin-wits dead. 
Surveyor of the Projects generall. 

Com. When died he ? Pra. Eene this morning, 
I receiv'd it 
From a right hand. Com. Conceale it Mr. Practije, 
And mind the maine affaire, you are in hand with. ^o 

Pie. The Coach is ready Sir. Com. 'Tis well faire 
Pleajance, 
Though now wee Ihall not ufe it ; bid the Coach-man 
Drive to the Parifh Church, and ftay about there. 
Till Mr. Practije come to him, and imploy him : 
I have a Licence now, which muft have entry =5 

Before my Lawyers. Noble Parjon Palate, 
Thou fhalt be a marke advanc't : here's a peece, 
And doe a feat for me. Pal. What, Mr. Compajje ? 

Com. But run the words of Matrimony, over 
My head, and Mrs. Pleajances in my Chamber : 3° 

There's Captaine Ironjide to be a witneffe : 
And here's a Licence to fecure thee. Parjon ! 
What doe you ftick at ? Pal. It is after-noone Sir, 
Directly againft the Canon of the Church ; 
You know it Mr. Compajje : and befide, 35 

I am ingag'd unto our worfhipfuU friend, 
The learned Mr. Practije in that bufines. 

10 with] for 1716, f 20 [Exit Practice. G Re-enter Pleas- 

ance. G 24 [Exit Pleasance. G 26 Lawyers.] Re-enter Pa- 
late. G 27 [Gives him money. G 



8o The Magnetic Lady [act illl 

Com. Come on, ingage your felfe : Who fhall be able 
To fay you married us, but i' the morning, 

40 The molt canonicall minute o' the day. 
If you affirme it ? That's a fpic'd excufe, 
And fhewes you have fet the Common Law, before 
Any profeffion elfe, of love, or friendfhip. 
Come Mrs. Pleafance, wee cannot prevaile 

45 "With th' rigid Par /on here ; but Sir, He keepe you 
Lock'd in my lodging, 'till't be done elfewhere. 
And under feare of Ironjide. Pal. Doe you heare. Sir ? 
Com. No, no, it matters not. Pal. Can youthinke Sir 
I would deny you anything ? not to loffe 

5» Of both my Livings : I will doe it for you, 
Ha' you a wedding Ring ? Com. I and a Poefie : 
Annulus hie nobis, quod jcit uterq ; dahit. Pal. Good ! 
This Ring will give you what you both defire. 
He make the whole houfe chant it, and the Parifh. 

55 Com. Why, well faid Par f on. Now to you my newes, 
That comprehend my reafons, Mrs. Pleafance. 



Act Iin. Scene VII. 
Chaire. Needle. Poli/h. Keepe. 

Cha. Goe, get a Nurfe, procure her at what rate 
You can : and out o' th' houfe with it, fonne Needle. 
It is a bad Commoditie. Nee. Good Mother, 
I know it, but the beft would now be made on't. 

Cha. And fhall : you fhould not fret fo, Mrs. Polifh, 
Nor you Dame Keepe ; my Daughter fhall doe well, 

42 Common] Canon 1692, f 43 Re-enter Pleasance. G 

56 [Exeunt. G Act . . . Keepe.] Scene II. Another Room in 

the Same. Enter Mother Chair with a child, PoUsh, Keep, and 
Needle. G 4 [Exit with the child. G 



SC. VII] The Magnetic Lady 8i 

When fhe has tane my Cawdle. I ha' knowne 
Twenty fuch breaches piec'd up, and made whole, 
Without a bum of noife. You two fall out ? 
And teare up one another. Pol. Blelfed woman ? ^^^ 

Blejt be the Peace maker. Kee. The Peafe-dreffer ! 
He heare no peace from her. I have beene wrong'd 
So has my Lady, my good Ladies worlhip, 
And I will right her, hoping fhee'll right me. 

Pol. Good gentle Keepe, I pray thee Miftris Nurfe, ^s 
Pardon my paffion, I was mifadvis'd. 
Be thou yet better, by this grave fage woman. 
Who is the Mother of Matrons, and great perlons, 
And knowes the world. Kee. I doe confeffe, fhe knowes 
Something — and I know fomething — . Pol. Put your 2° 

fomethings 
Together then. Cha. I, here's a chance falne out 
You cannot helpe ; leffe can this Gentlewoman ; 
I can and will, for both. Firft, I have fent 
By-chop away ; the caufe gone, the fame ceafeth. 
Then by my Cawdle, and my Cullice, I fet «5 

My Daughter on her feet, about the houfe here : 
Shee's young, and muft ftirre fomewhat for neceffity. 
Her youth will beare it out. She fhall pretend, 
T' have a fit o' the Mother : there is all. 
If you have but a Secretary Landreffe, 30 

To blanch the Linnen — Take the former counfels 
Into you ; keepe them fafe i' your owne brefts ; 
And make your Merkat of 'hem at the higheft. 
Will you goe peach, and cry your felfe a foole 
At Granam's Croffe ? be laugh'd at, and difpis'd ? 35 

Betray a purpofe, which the Deputie 
Of a double Ward, or fcarce his Alderman, 
With twelve of the wifeft Queftmen could find out, 
Imployed by the Authority of the Citie ? 
Come, come, be friends : and keepe thefe women-matters, 4<» 



82 The Magnetic Lady [ACT IV 

Smock-fecrets to our felves, in our owne verge. 
We Ihall marre all, if once we ope the myfteries 
O' the Tyring-houfe, and tell what's done within : 
No Theaters are more cheated with apparances, 

^5 Or thefe fhop-lights, then th' Ages, and folke in them. 
That leeme molt curious. Pol. Breath of an Oracle ! 
You Ihall be my deare Mother ; wifeft woman 
That ever tip'd her tongue, with point of reafons. 
To turne her hearers ! Miltris Keepe, relent, 

5° I did abufe thee ; I confeffe to pannance : 
And on my knees aske thee forgiveneffe. Cha. Rife, 
She doth begin to melt, I fee it — . Kee. Nothing 
Griev'd me fo much, as when you call'd me Baud : 
Witch did not trouble me, nor Gipfie ; no 

55 Nor Beggar. But a Baud, was fuch a name ! 
Cha. No more rehearfals ; Repetitions 
Make things the worfe: The more wee ftirre (you know 
The Proverbe, and it fignifies a) ftink. 
What's done, and dead, let it be buried. 

6o New houres wiU fit frefh handles, to new thoughts. 



Act IV. Scene VIII. 

Interejt, with his Foot-boy. To them Compaffe. Iron- 
fide. Silkeworme. Palate. Pleafance. To them the 
Lady : and after Practi/e. 

Int. Run to the Church, Sirrah. Get all the Drunkards 
To ring the Bels, and jangle them for joy 
My Neice hath brought an Heire unto the houfe. 
A lufty boy. Where's my lifter Load/tone ? 

51 forgivenelle. [kneels. G 60 Exeunt. G Act . . . Prac- 
ti/e. Scene III. Another Room in the Same. Enter sir Moth 
Interest, and Servant. G 4 boy. [Exit Servant.] G 4 Enter 
lady Loadstone. G 



SC, VIII] The Magnetic Lady 83 

Afleepe at aftemoones ! It is not wholefome ; s 

Againft all rules of Phyfick, Lady filter. 
The little Doctor will not like it. Our Neice 
Is new deliver'd of a chopping Child, 
Can call the Father by the name already, 
If it but ope the mouth round. Mr. Compafle, "> 

He is the man, they fay, fame gives is out. 
Hath done that Act of honour to our houfe, 
And friendfhip to pompe out a Sonne, and Heire, 
That fhall inherit nothing, furely nothing 
From me at leaft. I come t' invite your Ladifhip »s 

To be a witneffe ; I will be your Partner, 
And give it a horne-fpoone, and a treene difh ; 
Baftard, and Beggars badges, with a blanket 
For Dame the Doxey to march round the Circuit, 
With bag, and baggage. Com. Thou malitious Knight, »°^ 
Envious Sir Moath, that eates on that which feeds thee, 
And frets her goodneffe, that fuftaines the being ; 
What company of Mankind would owne thy brother- 
hood, 
But as thou haft a title to her blood. 
Whom thy ill nature hath chofe out t' infult on, as 

And vexe thus, for an Accident in her houfe. 
As if it were her crime ! Good innocent Lady, 
Thou fhew'ft thy felfe a true corroding Vermine, 
Such as thou art. Int. Why, gentle Mr. Compafje ? 
Because I wifh you joy of your young Sonne, 3° 

And Heire to the houfe, you ha' lent us ? Com. I ha' 

fent you ? 
I know not what I fhall doe. Come in friends : 
Madam, I pray you be pleas'd to truft your felfe 
Vnto our company. Lad. I did that too late : 

13 pompe] pump 1716, f 15 lealt.] Enter Compass. G 

32 Enter Ironside, sir Diaphanous Silkworm, Palate, and Plea- 
sance. G 



84 The Magnetic Lady [ACT rv 

35 Which brought on this calamity upon me, 
With all the infamy I heare ; your Souldier, 
That fwaggering Gueft. Com. Who is retum'd here 

to you, 
Your vowed friend, and fervant ; comes to fup with you, 
So wee doe all ; and'U prove he hath deferv'd, 

40 That fpeciall refpect, and favour from you. 
As not your fortunes, with your felfe to boote, 
Caft on a Feather-bed, and fpread o' th' fheets 
Vnder a brace of your beft Perfian Carpets, 
Were fcarce a price to thanke his happy merit. 

45 Int. What impudence is this ? can you indure 
To heare it filter ? Com. Yes, and you fhall heare it ; 
Who will indure it worfe. What deferves he 
In your opinion. Madam, or weigh'd Judgement, 
That, things thus hanging (as they doe in doubt) 

50 Sufpended, and fufpected, all involv'd, 
And wrapt in errour, can refolve the knot ? 
Redintigrate the fame, firft of your houfe ? 
Reftore your Ladifhips quiet ? render then 
Your Neice a Virgin, and unvitiated ? 

5s And make all plaine, and perfect (as it was) 
A practife to betray you, and your name ? 

Int. Hee fpeakes impoffibilities. Com. Here he f tands, 
Whofe fortune hath done this, and you muft thanke him : 
To what you call his fwaggering, wee owe all this. 

■So And that it may have credit with you Madam, 
Here is your Neice, whom I have married, witneffe 
Thefe Gentlemen, the Knight, Captaine, and Parson, 
And this grave Politique Tell-troth of the Court. 

Lad. What's fhe that I call Neice then ? Com. 
Polifhes Daughter ; 

65 Her Mother Goodwy' Polijh hath confeff'd it 

To Granam Keepe, the Nurfe, how they did change 
The children in their Cradles. Lad. To what purpofe ? 



SC. vill] The Magnetic Lady 85 

Com. To get the portion, or fome part of it, 
Which you muft now disburle intire to me, Sir, 
If I but gaine her Ladifhips confent. 70 

Lad. I bid God give you joy, if this be true. 

Com. As true it is, Lady, Lady, i' th' fong. 
The portion's mine, with intereft Sir Moath ; 
I will not 'bate 370U a fingle Harrington, 
Of intereft upon intereft. In meane time, 75 

I doe commit you to the Guard of Ironfide. 
My brother here, Captaine Rudhudibras : 
From whom I will expect you, or your Ranfome. 

Int. Sir you muft prove it, and the poffibility, 
Ere I beleeve it. Com. For the poffibility, 8° 

I leave to triall. Truth fhall fpeake it felfe. 
O Mr. Practi/e, did you meet the Coach ? 

Pra. Yes Sir, but empty. Com. Why, I fent 
it for you. 
The bulines is difpatch'd here, ere you come ; 
Come in, lie tell you how : you are a man 85 

Will looke for fatisfaction, and muft have it. 

All. So doe wee all, and long to heare the right. 



Chorus. 

Dam. Troth, I am one of thofe that labour with the 
fame longing, for it is almoft pucker'd, and pull'd into 
that knot, by your Poet, which I cannot eafily, with all 
the ftrength of my imagination, untie. 

Boy. Like enough, nor is it in your office to be 
troubled or perplexed with it, but to fit ftiU, and expect. 
The more your imagination bufies it felfe, the more it 
is intangled, efpecially if (as I told, in the beginning) 
you happen on the wrong end. 

81 triall.] Enter Practice. G 87 [Exeunt. G Chorus.] om. G 



86 The Magnetic Lady [ACT IV 

^° Pro. He hath laid fufficient, Brother Damplay ; our 
parts that are the Spectators, or fhould heare a Comedy, 
are to await the proceffe, and events of things, as the 
Poet prelents them, not as wee would corruptly fafhion 
them. Wee come here to behold Playes, and cenfure them, 

^5 as they are made, and fitted for us ; not to beflave our 
owne thoughts, with cenforious fpitle tempering the 
Poets clay, as wee were to mould every Scene anew : 
That were a meere Plaftick, or Potters ambition, moft 
unbecomming the name of a Gentleman. No, let us 

=^° marke, and not lofe the bufines on foot, by talking. 
Follow the right thred, or find it. 

Dam. Why, here his Play might have ended, if hee 
would ha' let it : and have fpar'd us the vexation of a 
jift Act yet to come, which every one here knowes the 

»5 iffue of already, or may in part conjecture. 

Boy. That conjecture is a kind of Figure-flinging, 
or throwing the Dice, for a meaning was never in the 
Poets purpofe perhaps. Stay, and fee his laft Act, his 
Cataftrophe, how hee will perplexe that, or fpring fome 

?° frefh cheat, to entertaine the Spectators, with a convenient 
delight, till fome unexpected, and new encounter breake 
out to rectifie all, and make good the Conclujion. 

Pro. Which, ending here, would have fhowne dull, 
flat, and unpointed ; without any fhape, or fharpeneffe, 

r:. Brother Damplay. 

Dam. Well, let us expect then : And wit be with us, 
o' the Poets part. 



SC. l] The Magnetic Lady 87 

Act V. Scene I. 

Needle. Item. 

Nee. n[^Roth Mr. Item, here's a houfe divided, 

J- And quarter'd into parts, by your Doctors 
ingine. 
H' has caft out Inch afperfions on my Ladies 
Neice here, of having had a Child ; as hardly 
Will be wip'd off, I doubt. Ite. Why, is't not true ? 

Nee. True ! did you thinke it ? Ite. Was fhee not 

in labour ? 

The Mid-wife lent for ? Nee. There's your errour now ! 

Yo' ha' drunke o' the fame water. Item. I beleev'd it, 

And gave it out too. Nee. More you wrong'd the 

party ; 
She had no fuch thing about her, innocent creature ! 

I em. What had fhe then ? only a fit o' the Mother ! 
They burnt old fhoes, Goofe-feathers, A/fafcetida, 
A few home fhavings, with a bone, or two. 
And fhe is well againe, about the houfe ; — 

Ite. Is't poffible ? Nee. See it, and then report it. 

Ite. Our Doctors Vrinall- Judgement is halfe crack'd 
then. 

Nee. Crack't i' the cafe, moft hugely, with my Lady, 
And fad Sir Moath, her brother ; who is now 
Vnder a cloud a little. Ite. Of what ? Difgrace ? 

Nee. He is committed to Rud-hudibras. ■■ 

The Captaine Ironjide, upon difpleafure, 
From Mr. Compajje, but it will blow off. 

Ite. The Doctor fhall reverfe his, inftantly, 
And fet all right againe : of you'll affift 
But in a toy ; Squire Needle, comes i' my nodle now. 

S. D. A Room in lady Loadstone's House. Enter Needle and 
Item. G 11 then ? [Nee.] 171 6, f 



88 The Magnetic Lady [act V 

Nee. Good, Needle and Nodle ! what may 't be ? 

I long for't. 
Ite. Why, but to goe to bed : faine a diftemper 
Of walking i' your fleepe, or talking in't 
A little idly, but lo much, as on' it, 
3° The Doctor may have ground, to raife a cure 
For's reputation. Nee. Any thing, to ferve 
The worfhip o' the man I love and honour. 



Act V. Scene II. 

Polifh. Pleafance. Chaire. Placentia. Keepe. 

Pol. O ! gi' you joy Madamoijelle Compa/fe ! 
You are his Whirle-poole now : all to be married, 
Againft your Mothers leave, and without counfell ! 
H' has fifh'd faire, and caught a Frog, I feare it. 
5 What fortune ha' you to bring him in dower ? 
You can tell Itories now : you know a world 
Of lecrets to difcover. Pie. I know nothing 
But what is told me ; nor can I difcover 
Anything. Pol. No, you fhaU not, He take order, 
lo Goe, get you in there : It is Ember-weeke ! 
He keepe you fafting from his flefh a while. 

Cha. See, who's here ? fhe 'has beene with my Lady ; 
who kift her, all to kift her, twice or thrice. 
Nee. And caU'd her Neice againe, and view\i her 
Linnen. 

32 [Exeunt. G Act . . . Keepe.] Scene II. Another Room in 
the Same. Enter Polish and Pleasance. G 10 there : [Exit 

Pleasance.] G 11 Enter Chair and Keep with Placentia. G 

12, 13 See, who's here ? Ihe' has beene with my Lady ; / who kilt 
her, all to kilt her, twice or thrice. 1692. who] Who 1716. See 
who is here ? she has been with my lady. 

Who kist her, all-to-be-kist her, twice or thrice. W, f 



sc. in] The Magnetic Lady 89 

Pol. You ha' done a Miracle, Mother Chaire. Cha. 
Not I, 
My Cawdle has done it. Thanke my Cawdle heartily. »5 

Pol. It fhall be thank'd, and you too, wileft Mother ; 
You fhall have a new, brave foure-pound Beaver hat. 
Set with enamell'd ftuds, as mine is here : 
And a right paire of Criftall Spectacles, 
Criftall o' th' Rock, thou mighty Mother of Dames, ^o 
Hung in an Ivory Cafe, at a gold Belt, 
And filver Bels to gingle, as you paffe 
Before your fiftie Daughters in proceffion 
To Church, or from the Church. Cha. Thankes Mrs. 
Polifh. 

Kee. She does deferve as many penfions, *s 

As there be peeces in a — Maiden-head ; 
Were I a Prince to give 'hem. Pol. Come fweet Charge, 
You fhall prefent your f elfe about the houfe, be confident, 
and beare up ; you fhall be feene. 



Act V. Scene III. 
Compa/fe. Ironjide. Practije. 

Com. What ? I can make you amends, my learned 
Counfell, 
And fatisfie a greater Injury 
To chafed Mr. Practife. Who would thinke 
That you could be thus teftie ? Iro. A grave head ! 
Gi'n over to the ftudy of our Lawes. 

Com. And the prime honours of the Common-wealth. 

28, 29 You shall present your self about the House ; 

Be confident, and bear up; you shall be seen. 1716, f 

30 [Exeunt. G Act . . . Pracfi/e.] Scene III. Another 

Room in the Same. Enter Compass, Ironside, and Practice. G 



90 The Magnetic Lady [act v 

Iro. And you to mind a wife. Com. What fhould 
you doe 
With fuch a toy as a wife, that might diftract you, 
Or hinder you i' your Courfe ? Iro. He shall not 
thinke on't. 
*o Com. I will make over to you my Poffeffion, 
Of that fame place is falne (you know) to fatisfie 
Surveyor of the Projects generall. 
Iro. And that's an office, you know how to ftirre in. 
Com. And make your profits of. Iro. Which are 
(indeed) 
"s The ends of a gown'd man : Shew your activity, 

And how you are built for bufines. Pra. I accept it 
As a Po/felsion, be't but a Reverfion. 

Com. You firft told me 'twas a Poffeffion. Pra. I, 
I told you that I heard fo. Iro. All is one, 
20 Hee'U make Reverfion a Pojfefsion quickly. 

Com. But I muft have a generall Releafe from 

you. 
Pra. Doe one. He doe the other. Com. It's a match 
Before my brother Ironfide. Pra. 'Tis done. 

Com. Wee two are reconcil'd then. Iro. To a 
Lawyer, 
25 That can make ufe of a place, any halfe title, 

Is better then a wife. Com. And will fave charges 
Of Coaches, Vellute Gownes, and cut-worke Smocks. 
Iro. Hee is to occupie an office wholly. 
Com. True, I muft talke with you neerer, Mr. Prac- 
tife, 
3^ About recovery o' my wives portion. 

What way I were beft to take. Pra. The plaineft way. 
Cow. What's that, for plaineneffe ? Pra. Sue him 
at Common-Law : 
Arresft him on an Action of Choke-baile, 
Five hundred thoufand pound ; it will affright him, 



SC. iv] The Magnetic Lady 91 

And all his lureties. You can prove your marriage ? ss 

Com. Yes. 
Wee'll talke of it within, and heare my Lady. 



Act V. Scene IV. 
Intereft. Lady. Rut. Item. 

Int. V am lure, the Rogue o' the houfe went all that 
way; 
She was with Child, and Mr. Compafje got it. 

Lad. Why, that you fee, is manifeftly falfe, 
H' has married the other ; our true Neice he fayes : 
He would not wooe 'hem both : hee is not fuch s 

A Stallion, to leape all. Againe, no Child 
Appeares, that I can find with all my fearch, 
And ftricteft way of Inquiry, I have made 
Through all my family. A fit o' the Mother, 
The women fay fhe had, which the Mid-wife cur'd, 1° 

With burning bones and feathers : Here's the Doctor. Enter Doctor. 

Int. O noble Doctor, did not you, and your Item, 
Tell me our Neice was in labour ? Rut. If I did, 
What followes ? Int. And that Mother Mid-night 
Was fent for ? Rut. So fhe was : and is i' the houfe 's 
ftill. 

Int. But here has a noife beene fince, fhe was deliver'd 
Of a brave boy, and Mr. Compaffe's getting. 

Rut. I know no rattle of Goffips, not their noyfes. 
I hope you take not me for a Pimpeerrant, 
To deale in fmock Affaires ? Where's the Patient ? 2° 
The infirme man, I was fent for. Squire Needle ? 

36 [Exeunt. G Act . . . Item.'] Scene IV. Another Room 

in the Same. Enter sir Moth Interest, and lady Loadstone. G 

I Rogue] vogue 1716, f Cunningham suggests ' voice.' 

I I feathers :] Enter Rut. G 

G 



g2 The Magnetic Lady [act v 

Lad. Is Needle lick ? Rut. My 'Pothecary tels me 
E»ter Tim. Hec is in danger ; how is't Tim ? where is he ? 

Ite. I cannot hold him downe. Hee's up, and walkes, 
25 And talkes in his perfect fleepe, with his eyes fhut, 
As fenlibly, as he were broad awake. 

Rut. See, here he comes. Hee's faft afleepe, obferve 

him. 
Rut. Hee'll tell us wonders : What doe thefe women 
here ? 



Act V. Scene V. 

Rut. Needle. Interejt. Item. Lady. Polijh. Chaire. 
Keefe. Placentia. 

Hunting a man halfe naked ? you are fine beagles ! 
You'd have his doufets. Nee. I ha' linnen breeks on. 
Rut. He heares, but hee fees nothing. Nee. Yes, 
I fee 
Who hides the treafure yonder. Int. Ha ? what 
treafure ? 
5 Rut. If you aske queftions, he 'wakes prefently : 
And then you'l heare no more, till his next fit. 

Nee. And whom fhe hides it for. Rut. Doe you 

marke Sir ? lift. 
Nee. A fine fhe fpirit it is, an Indian Mag-pie. 
She was an Aldermans Widow, and fell in love 
^° With our Sir Moath, my Ladies brother. Rut. (Heare 
you ?) 
Nee. And fhe has hid an Aldermans eftate ; 
Dropt through her bill in httle holes, i' the Garden, 
And fcrapes earth over 'hem ; where none can fpy 

23 danger;] Enter Item G 27 Enter Needle, followed by 

Polish, Chair, Keep, and Placentia. Act . . . Placentia.'] om. G 



SC. v] The Magnetic Lady 93 

But I, who fee all by the Glowormes light, 

That creeps before. Pol. I knew the Gentlewoman ; 's 

Alderman Parrots Widow, a fine Speaker, 

As any was i' the Clothing, or the Bevy ; 

She did become her fcarlet, and black Velvet, 

Her greene, and purple — . Rut. Save thy colours, 

Rainebow, 
Or fhe will run thee over, and all thy lights, 2° 

Pol. She dwelt in Doo-little Lane, a top o' the hill 
there ; 
I' the round Cage, was after Sir Chime Squirr ell's. 
Shee would eate nought but Almonds, I affure you. 

Rut. Would thou had'ft a dofe of pilles, a double dofe, 
O' the beft purge, to make thee turne tale, tother way. =5 

Pol. You are a foule mouth'd, purging, abfurd Doctor ; 
I tell you true, and I did long to tell it you. 
You ha' fpread a fcandall i' my Ladies houfe here, 
On her fweet Neice, you never can take off 
With all your purges, or your plaifter of Oathes ; 30 

Though you diftill your Dam-me, drop by drop, 
r your defence. That fhe hath had a Child, 
Here fhe doth fpit upon thee, and defie thee ; 
Or I do't for her. Rut. Madam, pray you bind her 
To her behaviour. Tye your Goffip up, 35 

Or fend her unto Beflem. Pol. Goe thou thither, 
That better haft deferv'd it, fhame of Doctors : 
Where could fhe be deliver'd ? by what charme ? 
Reftor'd to her ftrength fo foone ? who is the Father ? 
Or where the Infant ? Aske your Oracle, *° 

That walkes, and talkes in his fleepe. Rut. Where 

is he ? gone ? 
You ha' loft a fortune liftning to her, to her Tabour. 

15 before. [Exeunt Needle, Chair, Keep, and Placentia. G 
42 You ha' lost a fortune, list'ning to her tabor. W, f 42 [Aside 

to sir Moth. G 

G2 



94 The Magnetic Lady [act V 

Good Madam lock her up. Lad. You muft give loofers 
Their leave to fpeake, good Doctor. Rut. Follow his 
footing 
45 Before he get to his bed : This reft is loft elfe. 



Act V. Scene VI. 
Compa/fe. Practife. Ironfide. Polifh. Lady. 

Com. Where is my wife ? what ha' you done with 
my wife, 
Goffip o' the Counfels. Pol. I, fweet Mr. Compaffe ? 
I honour you, and your wife. Com. Well, doe fo ftill. 
I will not call you Mother tho', but Polifh. 
5 Good Goffip Polifh, where ha' you hid my wife ? 

Pol. I hide your wife ? Com. Or fhe's run away. 
Lad. That would make all fufpected. Sir, a frefh. 
Come we will find her, if fhe be i' the houfe. 

Pol. Why fhould I hide your wife, good Mr. Com- 
paffe ? 
lo Com. I know no caufe, but that you are goo'dy Polifh, 
That's good at malice ; good at mifchiefe ; all 
That can perplexe, or trouble a bufines, throughly. 
Pol. You may fay what you will : yo' are Mr. Com- 
paffe, 
And carry a large fweep. Sir, i' your Circle. 
15 Lad. He fweep all comers, Goffip, to fpring this. 
If't be above ground, I will have her cry'd. 
By the Common-cryer, through all the Ward, 
But I will find her. Iro. It will be an Act 
Worthy your juftice, Madam. Pra. And become 
2o The integrity, and worfhip of her name. 

45 [Exeunt Rut and sir Moth. G Act . . . Lady.] Enter 

Compass, Practice, and Ironside. G 20 [Exeunt. G 



sc. viii] The Magnetic Lady 95 

Act V. Scene VII. 
Rut. I titer eft. Item. Needle. 

Rut. 'Tis fuch a Fly, this Golfip, with her buz, 
Shee blowes on every thing, in every place ! 

Int. A bufie woman, is a fearefull grievance ! 
Will hee not fleepe againe ? Rut. Yes inltantly, 
As foone as he is warme. It is the nature 5 

Of the difeale, and all thefe cold dry fumes. 
That are melancholicke, to worke at firft. 
Slow, and infenfibly in their afcent. 
Till being got up, and then diftilling downe 
Vpo' the braine ; they have a pricking quality ^° 

That breeds this reltleffe reft, which we, the fonnes 
Of Phyfick, call a walking in the fleepe. 
And telling myfteries, that muft be heard. 
Softly, with art, as we were fowing pillowes 
Vnder the Patients elbowes, elfe they'd fly ^s 

Into a phrenfie, run into the Woods, 
Where there are Noifes, huntings, fhoutings, hallowings, 
Amidft the brakes, and furzes, over bridges 
FaU into waters : Scratch their flefh : Sometimes 
Drop downe a praecipice, and there be loft. 20 

How now ! what does her ? Ite. He is up againe. 
And 'gins to talke. Int. O' the former matter, Item ? -Enter item. 

Ite. The treafure, and the Lady : That's his argument. 

Int. O mee, happy man ! he cannot off it. 
I fhaU know all then. Rut. With what appetite ^s 

Our owne defires delude us ! Heare you Tim ? 
Let no man interrupt us. Ite. Sir Diaphanous, 
And Mr. Bias, his Court-friend's, defire 

Act . . . Needle.'] Scene V. Another Room in the Same. 
Enter Rut and sir Moth Interest. G 20 Enter Item. G 

24 O me [most] happy man ! G 26 us ! [Aside.] G 



g6 The Magnetic Lady [act v 

To kiffe his Neices hands, and gratulate 
3° The finne recovery of her good fame, 
And honour — Int. Good, fay to 'hem, Mr. Item, 
My Neice is on my Ladies fide : they'll find her there. 
I pray to be but fpar'd for halfe an houre : 
He fee 'hem prefently. Rut. Doe, put 'hem off, Tim. 
35 And tell 'hem the importance of the bufines. 
Here, he is come ! footh ; and have all out of him. 
Nee. How doe you Lady-bird ? fo hard at worke, 
ftill ? 
What's that you fay ? Doe you bid me walke, fweet 

Bird? 
And tell our Knight ? I will. How ? walke knave, 
walke ? 
40 I thinke y' are angry with me Pol. Fine Pol ! 
PoVs a fine bird ! O fine Lady Pol ! 
Almond for Parrat ; Parrat's a brave bird : 
Three hundred thoufand peeces ha' you ftuck, 
Edge-long into the ground, within the Garden ? 
45 O 'bounteous Bird ! Int. And me, moft happy creature. 
Rut. Smother your joy. Nee. How ? and drop'd 

twice fo many — 
Int. Ha ! where ? Rut. Containe your felfe. Nee. 

I'the old Well ? 
Int. I cannot, I am a man of flefh, and blood : 
Who can containe himfelfe, to heare the Ghoft 
5° Of a dead Lady, doe fuch workes as thefe ? 
And a Citie Lady too, o' the ftreight wafte ? 

Rut. Hee's gone. Nee. I will goe try the truth of it. 
Rut. Follow him, Tim : See what he does ; if he 
bring you 
A'ffay of it now. Int. He fay hee's a rare fellow : 

36 Enter Needle, talking as in his sleep. G 52 [Exit. G 

53 does ; [Exit Item.] G 



sc. vii] The Magnetic Lady 97 

And has a rare difeafe. Rut. And I will worke ss 

As rare a cure upon him. Int. How, good Doctor ? 

Rut. When he hath utter'd all, that you would know 
of him ; 
lie clenfe him with a pill (as fmall as a peafe) 
And ftop his mouth : for there his illue lies, 
Betweene the Mufcles o' the tongue. Int. Hee's come. ^^ 

Rut. What did he, /ifew ? Ite. The firf t ftep he f tept 
Into the Garden, he pull'd thefe five peices 
Vp, in a fingers bredth one of another. 
The durt fticks on 'hem ftill. Int. I know enough. 
Doctor, proceed with your Cure, He make thee famous, 6s 
Famous among the fonnes of the Phyficians, 
Machaon, Podalirius, Efculapius. 
Thou fhalt have a golden beard, as well as he had ; 
And thy Tim Item here, have one of filver : 
A hvery beard. And all thy 'Pothecaries 7° 

Belong to thee. Where's Squire Needle ? gone ? 

Ite. Hee's prick'd away, now he has done the worke. 

Rut. Prepare his pill, and gi' it him afore Supper. 

Int. He fend for a dozen o' labourers to morrow, 
To turne the furface o' the Gaiden up. 75 

Rut. In mould ? bruife every clod ? Int. And have 
all lifted; 
For He not loofe a peice o' the Birds bounty. 
And take an Inventory of all. Rut. And then, 
I would goe downe into the Well — Int. My felfe ; 
No trufting other hands : Sixe hundred thoufand, 80 

To the firft three ; nine hundred thoufand pound — 

Rut. 'Twill purchafe the whole Bench of Aldermanity, 
Stript to their fhirts. Int. There never did accrew, 
So great a gift to man, and from a Lady, 
I never law but once ; now I remember, H 

60 tongue.] Re-enter Item. G 73 [Exit Item. G 



98 The Magnetic Lady [ACT v 

Wee met at Merchants-Taylors-hall, at dinner, 

In Thred-needle ftreet. Rut. Which was a ligne Squire 

Needle 
Should have the thredding of his thred. Int. 'Tis true ; 
I Ihall love Parrots better, while I know him. 

Rut. Il'd have her ftatue cut, now in white marble. 

Int. And have it painted in moft orient colours. 

Rut. That's right ! all Citie ftatues muft be painted : 
EKe, they be worth nought i' their lubtile Judgements. 



Act V. Scene VIII. 

Intereft. Bias. Rut. Palate. 

Int. My trueft friend in Court, deare Mr. Bias ; 

You heare o' the recovery of our Neice 

In fame, and credit ? Bia. Yes, I have beene with her, 

And gratulated to her ; but I am lory 
5 To find the Author o' the fowle afperfion 

Here i' your company, this inlolent Doctor. 
Int. You doe miltake him : He is cleare got off on't. 

A Goffips Jealoufie firlt gave the hint. 

He drives another way, now, as I would have him. 
10 Hee's a rare man, the Doctor, in his way. 

H' has done the noblelt cure here, i' the houfe. 

On a poore Squire, my filters Taylor, Needle 

That talk'd in's fleepe ; would walke to Saint lohn's wood, 

And Waltham Forreft, fcape by aU the ponds, 
IS And pits i' the way ; run over two-inch bridges ; 

With his eyes faft, and i' the dead of night ! 

He ha' you better acquainted with him. Doctor, 

Here is my deare, deareft friend in Court, 

Act . . . Palate.] Enter Bias. G 



sc. viii] The Magnetic Lady 99 

Wife, powerfull Mr. Bias ; pray you lalute 

Each other, not as ftrangers, but true friends. ^o 

Rut. This is the Gentleman you brought to day, 
A Suitor to your Neice ? Int. Yes. Rut. You were 
Agreed, I heard ; the writings drawne betweene you ? 

Int. And feald. Rut. What broke you off ? Int. 
This rumour of her ? 
Was it not Mr. Bias ? Bia. Which I find =5 

Now faKe, and therefore come to make amends 
r the firft place. I ftand to the old conditions. 

Rut. Faith give 'hem him, Sir Mouth, what ere they 
were. 
You have a brave occafion now, to croffe 
The flanting Mr. Compajje, who pretends 30 

Right to the portion, by th' other Intaile. 

Int. And claimes it. You doe heare he's married ? 

Bia. We heare his wife is run away from him, 
Within : She is not to be found i' the houfe, 
With all the Hue, and Cry is made for her, 35 

Through every roome ; the Larders ha' beene fearch'd. 
The Bak-houfes, and Boulting-tub. the Ovens, 
Wafh-houfe, and Brew-houfe, nay the very Fornace, 
And yet fhe is not heard of. Int. Be fhe nere heard of, 
The fafety of Great Brittaine lyes not on't. 40 

You are content with the ten thoufand pound. 
Defalking the foure hundred gamifh money ? 
That's the condition here, afore the Doctor, 
And your demand, friend Bias. Bia. It is Sir Moath. Enter Palate. 

Rut. Here comes the Far Ion then, fhall make all lure. 45 

Int. Goe you with my friend Bias, Parjon Palate, 
Vnto my Neice ; affure them wee are agreed. 

Pal. And Mrs. Compasse too, is found within. 



44 Enter Palate. G 



100 The Magnetic Lady [ACT V 

Int. Where was The hid ? Pal. In an old Botle-houfe, 
5° Where they fcrap'd trenchers ; there her mother had 
thruft her. 
Rut. You fhall have time, Sir, to triumph on him. 
When this fine feate is done, and his Rud-Ironjide. 



Act V. Scene IX. 

Compajje. Pleajance. Lady. Ironfide. Practife. 
Polijh. Chaire. Keepe. &c. 

Com. Was ever any Gentlewoman us'd 
So barbaroufly by a malitious Goffip, 
Pretending to be Mother to her too ? 

Pol. Pretending! Sir, I am her Mother, and chal- 
lenge 
5 A right, and power for what I have done. Com. Out, 
Hag. 
Thou that haft put all nature off, and woman : 
For fordid gaine, betray'd the truft committed 
Vnto thee by the dead, as from the living : 
Chang'd the poore innocent Infants in their Cradles : 
lo Defrauded them o' their parents, chang'd their names, 
Calling Placentia, Pleajance ; Pleajance, Placentia. 
Pol. How knowes he this ? Com. Abus'd the neigh- 
bour-hood ; 
But moft this Lady. Did'ft enforce an oath. 
To this poore woman, on a pious booke, 
15 To keepe clofe thy impiety. Pol. Ha' you told this ? 
Kee. I told it ? no, he knowes it, and much more, 
As he's a cunning man. Pol. A cunning foole, 

52 [Exeunt. G Act . . . &c.] Scene VI. Another Room in 

the Same. Enter Compass, lady Loadstone, Practice, Polish, Chair, 
and Keep. G 12 this ? [Aside. G 15 [Aside to the Nurse. G 



sc. x] 



The Magnetic Lady 



lOI 



If that be all. Com. But now to your true daughter, 
That had the Child, and is the proper Pleajance, 
Wee muft have an account of that too, Goffip ; 
Pol. This's like all the reft of Mr. Compafje. 



Act V. Scene X. 
Enter to them running, Rut. 
Helpe, helpe for Charity ; Sir Moath Intereft 



Where ? where ? Rut. 



Rut. 
Is falne into the Well. Lad. 

V the Garden. 
A rope to fave his life. Com. How came he there ? 

Rut. He thought to take poffeffion of a fortune, 
There newly drop't him, and the old Chaine broke, 
And downe fell hee i' the Bucket. Com. Is it deepe ? 

Rut. We cannot tell. A rope : helpe with a rope. 

Sil. He is got out againe. The Knight is fav'd. 

Iro. A little fows'd i' the water: Needle fav'd him. 

Ite. The water fav'd him, 'twas a faire efcape. 

Nee. Ha' you no hurt ? Int. A little wet. Nee. 
That's nothing. 

Rut. I wifh'd you ftay Sir till to morrow : And told 
you. 
It was no lucky houre : fince fixe a Clock 
All ftarres were retrograde. Lad. V the name ^'^y- 

Of fate, or folly how came you i' the Bucket ? *s 

Int. That is a Quere of another time, fifter. 
The Doctor will refolve you — who hath done 
The admirable'ft cure upon your Needle ! 
Gi' me thy hand good Needle : thou cam'ft timely. 



Enter Silke- 
worme. Iron- 
fide. Item . 
Needle, and 
Inter eft- Rut. 



Act . . . i?M/.] Enter Rut running. G 7 Enter sir Diapha- 
nous Silkworm, Ironside, Item, and Needle, leading in sir Moth In- 
terest. G 



102 The Magnetic Lady [ACT V 

^° Take off my hood and coat. And let me fhake 
Bias. My felfe a little. I have a world of bufines. 
Palate.' Where is my Nephew Bias ? and his wife ? 

Who bids God gi'hem joy ? Here they both Itand 
As fure affianced, as the Parfon, or words 
^5 Can tie 'hem. Rut. Wee all wilh 'hem joy, and happi- 
neffe. 
Silk. I faw the Contract, and can witneffe it. 
Int. He fhall receive ten thoufand pounds to morrow. 
You look'd for't, Compaffe, or a greater fumme. 
But 'tis dilpo'sd of, this, another way. 
3° I have but one Neice, verely Compaffe. 

Com. He find another. Varlef, doe your office. 
VarM. Var. I doe arreft your body, Sir Moath Intereft, 
In the Kings name: At fuite of Mr. Compaffe, 
And Dame Placentia his wife. The Action's entred, 
35 Five hundred thoufand pound. Int. Heare you this, 
fifter ? 
And hath your houfe the eares, to heare it too ? 
And to refound the affront ? Lad. I cannot ftop 
The Lawes, or hinder Juftice. I can be 
Your Baile, if't may be taken. Com. With the Cap- 
taines, 
t" I aske no better. Rut. Here are better men. 

Will give their Baile. Com. But yours will not be taken, 
Worfhipfull Doctor ; you are good fecurity 
For a fuit of clothes, to th' Taylor, that dares truft you : 
But not for fuch a fumme, as is this Action, 
'•s Varlet, You know my mind. Var. You muft to prifon, 
Sir, 
Vnleffe you can find Baile the Creditor likes. 

Int. I would faine find it, if you'd fhew me where. 

22 Enter Bias and Placentia. G 30 verely Compa/le. 

verily [master] Compass. G 30 Enter a Serjeant. G 



SC. x] The Magnetic Lady 103 

Silk. It is a terrible Action ; more indeed, 
Then many a man is worth. And is call'd F right- Baile. 

Iro. Faith I will baile him, at mine owne apperill. so 
Varlet, be gone : He once ha' the reputation. 
To be fecurity for fuch a lumme. 

Beare up Sir Moath. Rut. He is not worth the Buckles 
About his Belt, and yet this Ironfide clafhes : 

Int. Peace, left he heare you Doctor : wee '11 make ss 
ufe of him. 
What doth your brother Compaffe, Captaine Ironside, 
Demand of us, by way of challenge, thus ? 

Iro. Your Neices portion ; in the right of his wife. 

Int. I have affur'd one portion, to one Neice, 
And have no more t' account for, that I know of : ^o 

What I may doe in charity, if my fifter. 
Will bid an Offring for her maid, and him, 
As a Benevolence to 'hem, after Supper, 
He fpit into the Bafon, and intreat 

My friends to doe the like. Com. Spit out thy gall, 65 
And heart, thou Viper : I will now no mercy. 
No pitty of thee, thy falfe Neice, and Needle ; 
Bring forth your Child, or I appeale you of murder, 
You, and this Goffip here, and Mother Chaire. 

Cha. The Gentleman's falne mad ! Pie. No, Mrs. 70 
Midwife. 
I faw the Child, and you did give it me, ftepsout. 

And put it i' my armes, by this ill token. 
You wifhi'd me fuch another ; and it cry'd. 

Pra. The Law is plaine ; if it were heard to cry. 
And you produce it not, hee may indict 75 

All that conceale't, of Felony, and Murder. 

Com. And I will take the boldneffe. Sir, to doe it : 
Beginning with Sir Moath here, and his Doctor. 

67 Enter Pleasance. G 



104 ^^^ Magnetic Lady [act v 

Silk. Good faith this lame is hke to turne a bufines. 
8° Pal. And a fhrewd bufines, marry : they all ftart at't. 
Com. I ha' the right thred now, and I will keepe it. 
You good'y Keepe, confeffe the truth to my Lady, 
The truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth. 
Pol. I fcorne to be prevented of my glories. 
85 I plotted the deceit, and I will owne it. 
Love to my Child, and lucre of the portion 
Provok'd me; wherein though th' event hath fail'd 
In part, I will make ufe of the beft fide. 
This is my Daughter, and fhe hath had a Child 
90 This day, (unto her fhame, I now profeffe it.) 
By this meere falfe-ftick Squire Needle, but 
Since this wife Knight, hath thought it good to change, 
The foohfh Father of it, by affuring 
Her to his deare friend, Mr. Bias ; and him 
95 Againe to her, by clapping of him on 
With his free promife of ten thoufand pound, 
Afore fo many witneffes. Silk. Whereof I 
Am one. Pal. And I another. Pol. I fhould be 

unnarurall 
To my owne flefh, and blood, would I not thanke him. 
100 I thanke you Sir : and I have reafon for it. 

For here your true Neice Itands, fine Mrs. Compajfe. 
(He tell you truth, you have deferv'd it from me.) 
To whom you are by bond engag'd to pay, 
The fixteene thoufand pound, which is her portion, 
JOS Due to her husband, on her marriage-day. 
I fpeake the truth, and nothing but the truth. 

Iro. You'll pay it now. Sir Moath, with intereft ? 
You fee the truth breaks out on every fide of you. 
Int. Into what nets of cous'nage am I caft 

89 Daughter, [Points to Placentia.] G 98 unnarurall] un- 

natural 1692, f 



SC. xj The Magnetic Lady 105 

On ev'ry fide ? each thred is growne a noofe : "° 

A very mefh : I have run my lelfe into 

A double breake, of paying twice the money. 

Bia. You fhall be releas'd, of paying me a penny, 
With thefe conditions. Pol. Will you leave her then ? 

Bia. Yes, and the fumme, twice told, ere take "5 
a wife. 
To pick out Mounfier Needles bafting threds. 

Com. Goffip you are paid : though he be a fit nature, 
Worthy to have a Whore juftly put on him ; 
He is not bad enough to take your Daughter, 
On fuch a cheat. Will you yet pay the portion ? "o 

Int. What will you 'bate ? Com. No penny the 
Law gives. 

Int. Yes, Bias's money. Com. What ? your friend 
in Court ? 
I will not rob you of him, nor the purchafe. 
Nor your deare Doctor here, ftand altogether. 
Birds of a nature all, and of a feather. 125 

Lad. Well, wee are all now reconcil'd to truth. 
There refts yet a Gratuitie from me, 
To be conferr'd upon this Gentleman ; 
Who (as my Nephew Compaffe fayes) was caufe, 
Firft of th' offence, but fince of all th' amends, 130 

The Quarrell caus'd th' affright ; that fright brought on 
The travell, which made peace ; the peace drew on 
This new difcovery, which endeth all 
In reconcilement. Com. When the portion 
Is tender'd, and receiv'd. Int. Well, you muft have it, 135 
As good at firft as laft. 'Tis well faid brother. 
And I, if this good Captaine will accept me. 
Give him my felfe, endow him with my eftate. 



no noole] noofe Y. 1640. noose W, f 136 laft. [Lad.] 

1692, f. 



io6 The Magnetic Lady [ACT v 

And make him Lord of me, and all my fortunes : 
MO He that hath fav'd my houre, though by chance, 

He really ftudy his, and how to thanke him. 
Iro. And I imbrace you. Lady, and your goodneffe, 

And vow to quit all thought of wane hereafter ; 

Save what is fought under your colours. Madam. 
M5 Pal. More worke then for the Parfon ; I fhall cap 

The Loadftone with an Ironfide, I fee, 

Iro. And take in thefe, the forlorne Couple, with us, 

Needle, and's Thred, whofe portion I will thinke on ; 

As being a bufines, waiting on my bounty : 
'SO Thus I doe take poffeffion of you. Madam, 

My true Magnetick Miftris, and my Lady. 



THE END. 



140 houre,] Honour 171b, t 151 [Exeunt. G 



CHORUS 

Changed into an Epilogve : 
To the KING. 



WEll, Gentlemen, I now muft under jeale, 
And tK Authors charge, waive you, and make 
my^appeale. 
To the fupremeft power, my Lord, the King ; 

Who be/t can judge of what wee humbly bring. 
Hee knowes our weaknejje, and the Poets faults ; 

Where he doth ftand upright, goe firme, or halts ; 
And hee will doome him. To which voice he f lands, 
And prefers that, 'fore all the Peoples hands. 



H 



EXPLANATORY NOTES 

These notes include whatever has been considered of value 
in the notes of the preceding editions. Notes signed W are 
by Whalley, G by Gifford, C by Cunningham. For other 
abbreviated references and for editions of works cited, the 
Bibliography should be consulted. Explanations of words 
and phrases are usually found only in the Glossary, although 
exceptional cases are treated further in the notes. References 
to this play are to act, scene, and line of the text ; other 
references to Jonson's works are to the Gifford-Cunningham 
edition of 1875 — to play, volume, and page. The metrical in- 
vestigation included in the notes is based upon the treatment 
of prosody in Abbott's Shakespearian Grammar. 

THE MAGNETIC LADY 

lam lapides suus ardor agit ferrumq ; tenetur, 

Illecebris. — Claudian, M agues. 56—57, with Et changed 
to lam. 

The Persons that act. In accordance with his custom, 
Jonson gives to each of his characters a name which suggests 
the chief trait or humor. 

Mrs. Placentia. See Glossary s. v. Mrs. The title Mrs. in 
the 17th and i8th centuries might be prefixed to the name 
of an unmarried lady or girl. ' Mrs. Elizabeth Carter,' ' Mrs. 
Hannah More.' 

Sir Diaph Silkworm. Cf . The Staple of News {Wks. 5. 167) : 

O ! though thou art a silkworm. 

And deal'st in satins and velvets, and rich plushes. 

Thou canst not spin all forms out of thyself. 

Also, On Court-worm {Wks. 8. 152) : 

AU men are worms : but this no man. In silk. 

The term silkworm was defined by Steele in The Spectator, 
No. 454: 

H2 



no The Magnetic Lady 

This Chace was now at an End, and the Fellow who 
drove her came to us, and discovered that he was 
ordered to come again in an Hour, for that she was 
a Silk- Worm. I was surprised with this Phrase, but 
found it was a Cant among the Hackney Fraternity for 
their best Customers, Women who ramble twice or thrice 
a Week from Shop to Shop, to turn over all the Goods 
in Town without buying any thing. The Silk- Worms 
are, it seems, indulged by the Tradesmen ; for tho' 
they never buy, they are ever talking of new Silks, 
Laces and Ribbands, and serve the Owners in getting 
them Customers, as their common Dunners do in mak- 
ing them pay. 

In 1609, to promote the manufacture of silk in England, 
King James had many hundred thousand young mulberry 
trees imported from France, and sent into the different 
counties; cf. Harl. Misc. 2. 218—23. 

Sir Moath Interest, An Usurer, or Money-baud. A usurer 
was called a bawd, because he was an intermediary between 
money and those who wanted it. In The Staple of News 
{Wks. 5. 216), where money is personified as Pecunia, the 
figure was more appropriate : 

Old Covetousness, the sordid Pennyboy, the 
Money-bawd, who is a flesh-bawd too. 

A usurer was merely a person who lent out money at interest, 
not, as with us, one who exacts more than the legal rate. 
The business of money-lending was then held in great disrepute, 
and much of the opprobrium heaped upon Sir Moth in the 
course of the play is due to his character of hard-hearted 
money-lender. Increase by gold and silver was considered 
unlawful, because against nature. Aristotle is credited with 
the honor of starting this conceit. Cf. The Merchant of Venice 
I. 3. 136-7 : 

. . . for when did friendship take 
A breede of barraine mettall of his friend ? 

and the discussion of this passage in the Furness Variorum 
7. 48. Stubbes' diatribe against usury expresses the feeling 
of the time; see The Anatomy of Abuses (ed. Furnivall, 



IND.] Explanatory Notes iii 

pp. 123—9). Here he characterizes the usurer as worse than 
a thief, a Jew, Judas, hell itself, cruder than death, and worse 
than the Devil. Bacon, in his essay 0/ Usury, treats the sub- 
ject more rationally. The idea of abolishing usury is one 
of the idle opinions to be relegated to Utopia ; but usury is ' a 
concession, on account of hardness of heart.' It is curious 
that this opposition — of idealists at least — to the taking of 
interest, finds literary expression as late as Tennyson's The 
Brook. 

The Persons that act. Mr. Bias, A Vi-politique. A sub- 
stitute or deputy politician, a sub-secretary to a politician. 
Vi is a contraction of vice ; cf . vice-chairman, vice-president. 

Ind. Induction. Shakespeare also used this word in the 
sense of introduction : j. Henry IV 3. 1.2:' And our induction 
full of prosperous hope.' 

Ind. I. What doe you lack? ' The boy uses the language 
of the petty traders of the time, and the others continue the 
allusion.' — G. 

Ind. 9. Poet'accios, Poetasters, Poetito's. For the meaning 
of these terms, see the Glossary. The Elizabethan drama was 
now on the decline : the giants, Shakespeare, Beaumont, 
Fletcher, and Chapman, had left the stage ; and their places 
were ill supplied by a host of lesser lights — ^Massinger, Rowley, 
Heywood, Ford, Field, Shirley, Brome, Davenant, Cart- 
wright, Randolph, Mayne, and others. 

Ind. 12. Sir, hee is not here. 'Jonson always attended 
the first presentation of his pieces, when it was in his power. 
He was now bed-ridden : his last appearance in the theatre 
seems to have been in 1625, when The Staple of News was 
brought forward.' — G. 

Ind. 16. tye US two, to you. Place us two under obli- 
gations to you ; see the Glossary, s. v. tye: Also cf. Shake- 
speare's Cymbeline i. 6. 23 : ' He is one of the Noblest note, 
to whose kindnesses I am most infinitely tied.' 

Ind. 20. No man leaps into a busines of state, without 
fourding first the state of the busines. The figure is of a man 
wading slowly and carefully across a stream, and then leaping 
forward rapidly. NED. cites examples of the figurative use 



112 The Magnetic Lady [iND. 

of the term : e. g. Bp. Mountague, Acts & Mon. (1642) 299 ; 
' The truth at last he foorded.' For the use of leap as here 
employed, cf. Beaumont and Fletcher, The Woman Hater 
I. 22 : ' Val. I pray you, sir, leap into the matter ; what 
would you have me do for you ? ' Plays upon word's or 
jingles such as business of state . . . state of the business, were 
common in Jonson's time. 

Ind. 24. The Venison side. An evident pun : the side on 
which the h(e)art is situated. SalUes of this sort are partly 
attributable to the irregularity of spelling in Jonson's time. 

Ind. 28. your sinJull sixe-penny Mechanicks. In various 
places in Jonson's works he shows contempt for the laboring 
classes. Cf. The New Inn {Wks. 5. 327) : 

Lady F. Pox o' this errant tailor, 
He angers me beyond aU mark of patience ! 
These base mechanics never keep their word. 
In anything they promise. 

Pru. ' Tis their trade, madam. 
To swear and break ; they all grow rich by breaking 
More than their words ; their honesties, and credits. 
Are still the first commodity they put off. 

Jonson's attitude-toward the common people was largely 
shared by his fellow-dramatists. See the paper on The 
Shaksperian Mob by Frederick Tupper, Jr., Pub. of Mod. 
Lang. Assoc, Vol. 27, No. 4, Dec, 1912. It may be, too, 
that Jonson is casting a slur at the Globe Theatre, which was 
patronized largely by a poorer class than the Blackfriars ; cf . 
The Poetaster (Wks. 2. 430) : 

Tuc. And what new matters have you now afoot, 
sirrah, ha ? I would fain come with my cockatrice one 
day, and see a play, if I knew where there were a good 
bawdy one ; but they say you have nothing but Hu- 
mours, Revels, and Satires, that gird and f-t at the 
time, you slave. 

Hist. No, I assure you, captain, not we. They are 
on the other side of Tyber : we have as much ribaldry 
in our plays as can be, as you would wish, captain : 
all the sinners in the suburbs come and applaud our 
action daily. 



IND.] Explanatory Notes 113 

Ind 31. like so many eminences. Cf. Dekker's The Gul's 
Hornbook (ed. McKerrow, chap. 6, p. 50) : ' For do but cast 
up a reckoning, what large comings-in are pursed up by 
sitting on the stage. First, a conspicuous eminence is gotten ; 
by which means, the best and most essential parts of a gallant, 
good clothes, a proportionable leg, white hand, the Persian 
lock, and a tolerable beard, are perfectly revealed.' 

Ind. 32. Of clothes, not understandings ? Throughout his 
works Jonson satirized the class of people who came to plays 
to see and be seen, but not to listen intelligently. Fitzdottrell, 
in The Devil is an Ass [Wks. 5. 27—8), is a good example of 
the type : 

Here is a cloke cost fifty pound, wife. 
Which I can sell for thirty, when I have seen 
All London in't, and London has seen me. 
To-day I go to the Blackfriars play house. 
Sit in the view, salute all my acquaintance. 
Rise up between the acts, let fall my cloke, 
Publish a handsome man, and a rich suit, 
As that's a special end why we go thither. 

For other examples, see To Mr. John Fletcher, upon his Faith- 
ful Shepherdess : Underwoods {Wks. 8. 324) ; Jonson's Ode to 
Himself (Tennant's ed. of The New Inn, p. 118) ; The Magnetic 
Lady, i. Ch. 41—49. 

Ind. 38. Populo ut placerent. Prologue to Terence's 
Andria, line 3. 

Ind . 49. and will have the conscience, and ingenuity beside, 
to confesse it. Cf. Induction to Bartholomew Fair {Wks. 
4. 347) : ' The author promiseth to present them by us, 
with a new sufficient play, called Bartholomew Fair, merry, 
and as full of noise, as sport : made to delight all and offend 
none ; provided they have either the wit or the honesty to 
think well of themselves.' 

Ind. 61. Every Poet writes Squire now. This apparently 
refers to the growing claim on the part of plajrwrights and poets 
to be enrolled among the gentry ; see the note to i. 5. 39, 
and cf . the title-page to The Two Noble Kinsmen : ' Written 
b}^ the memorable Worthies of their time ; 



114 ^^^ Magnetic Lady [ind. 

Mr. John Fletcher, and | ^ , 
Mr. William Shakespeare. ^ 
Cf . also the title-page to the second edition of Cupid's Revenge : 

I Fran. Beaumont i 
& I Gentlemen.' 

Jo. Fletcher ' 

Ind. 70. Of his portall, or entry to the worke, according 
to Vitruvius. A discussion Of the Proportions of the Doors of 
Temples is found in chap. 6. p. 115, of Joseph Gwilt's trans- 
lation of the De Architectura. 

Ind. 72. without a Portall — or Vitruvius. The boy, who 
knows nothing of Vitruvius, merely repeats the terms of the 
preceding speech. — G. 

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Roman architect and 
engineer. From information gathered from his writings, he 
is supposed to have lived during the age of Julius Caesar and 
the reign of Augustus. He was the author of a celebrated 
work on architecture, De Architectura ; see Encyl. Brit., 
nth ed.. Vol. 28: ' From the early Renaissance down to a 
comparatively recent time the influence of this treatise has 
been remarkably great. Throughout the period of the classi- 
cal revival Vitruvius was the chief authority studied by 
architects, and in every point his precepts were accepted 
as final. . . . Bramante, Michelangelo, Palladio, Vignola and 
earlier architects were careful students of the work of Vitru- 
vius, which through them has largely influenced the archi- 
tecture of almost all European countries.' Jonson satirized 
the architect, Inigo Jones, under the title, Vitruvius Hoop 
{A Tale of A Tub), and as Coronal Vitruvius {Entertainment 
at Bolsover). 

Ind. 73. In Foro. In court ; in the open. Jonson used 
this phrase in The New Inn {Wks. 5. 349) : 

Lord L. I am not jealous. 

Host. Of so short a time 

Your lordship needs not, and being done in foro. 

Ind. y2>- And what is conceald within, is brought out, and 
made present by report. That part of the plot or action of 



IND.] Explanatory Notes 115 

the play which is not represented dramatically is represented 
by narrative. Jonson insists that a play should be presented 
to an audience as a comprehensible unity. See Schelling's 
edition of Timber (XXXV, and pp. 85—7). In this respect 
Jonson's practice differs from that of Beaumont and Fletcher, 
in whose plays the leading personages often change character 
off the stage. See Thorndike, The Influence of Beaumont 
and Fletcher upon Shakespeare, pp. 119— 21. The relation 
between action and narrative in plays is discussed in Horace, 
De Arte Poetica. See Jonson's translation Of the Art of 
Poetry {Wks. 9. 93) : 

The business either on the stage is done. 
Or acted told. But ever things that run 
In at the ear, do stir the mind more slow 
Than those the faithful eyes take in by show, 
And the beholder to himself doth render. 
Yet to the stage at all thou may'st not tender 
Things worthy to be done within, but take 
Much from the sight, which fair report will make 
Present anon. 

The same point is discussed in Sidney's Defense of Poesy (see 
Cook's edition, p. 49) : ' Again, many things may be told 
which cannot be showed, — if they know the difference betwixt 
reporting and representing. As for example I may speak, 
though I am here, of Peru, and in speech digrees from that to 
the description of Calicut . . . And so was the manner the 
ancients took, by some Nuntius to recount things done in 
former time or other place.' 

Ind. 78. The most of those your people call Authors, never 
dreamt of any Decorum. See Glossary, s. v. Decorum. In the 
Induction to Bartholomew Fair {Wks. 4. 353—4), Jonson 
employs this term : ' And though the Fair be not kept in the 
same region that some here, perhaps, would have it ; yet think, 
that therein the author hath observed a special decorum, the 
place being as dirty as Smithfield, and as stinking every whit.' 
The term decorum is probably the one which most nearly sums 
up the doctrine of the classical school of criticism — Aristotle, 
Horace, the Italians, Sidney, etc. For Jonson's criticism, 



ii6 The Magnetic Lady [IND. 

and his relation to Sidney and the Itahans, see Spingarn, 
Critical Essays of the Seventeenth Century, Vol. i, Introduction, 
pp. IX— XXI, and pp. 10—64. 

Ind. 86—90. The — ^last. The Magnetic Lady appears as 
the last of a list of humor-plays : Every Man In (1598) ; Every 
Man Out (1599) ; Cynthia's Revels (1600) ; The Poetaster {1601) ; 
The Fox (1605) ; The Silent Woman (1609) ; The Alchemist 
(1610) ; Bartholomew Fair (1614) ; The Devil is an Ass (1616) ; 
The Staple of News (1626) ; The New Inn (1629). 

Ind. 95. hee makes that his Center attractive. Lady 
Loadstone is but slightly characterized. Her function in 
the play is to bring together the interesting characters. 
Her attractive qualities are her hospitality and her guardian- 
ship over her wealthy and marriageable niece. The name 
Loadstone suggests the use of the term in The Alchemist 
{Wks. 4. 40) : 

Beneath your threshold, bury me a load-stone 
To draw in gallants that wear spurs. 

Later, in John Earle's Micro cosmography (pub. 1628), the 
character of A Handsome Hostess is very similar to Jonson's 
Magnetic Lady : ' A handsome hostess is the fairer commen- 
dation of an inn, above the fair sign, or fair lodgings. She is 
the loadstone that attracts men of iron, gallants and roarers, 
where they cleave sometimes long, and are easily got off.' 

Ind. 106. Hee will not woo the gentile ignorance so much. 
Gifford notes that this passage resembles one of Aristophanes 
in The Clouds (560—2) : 

"OoTig ovv rovroiGi yeXa, roTg Bfioig fit] xa<()f'ro> • 
'7/r d' efioi xal rolGiv e/iioig £V<pQaivt]0^' evQi'jfiaOiv, 
'Eg, Tag SQag rag ereQag ev (pQovslv doxroera. 

Ind. 108. it shall super-please judicious Spectators. Re- 
flections of this nature abound in Jonson's prologues and 
epilogues ; and explain why he had ' lost too much that way.' 
Cf. The Poetaster, Apologetical Dialogue {Wks. 2. 250) : 

... If I prove the pleasure but of one, 
So he judicious be, he shall be alone 
A theatre unto me. 



ACT l] Explanatory Notes 117 

Cf. also Hamlet (3. 2) : ' Now this overdone, or come tardy off, 
though it make the unskilful laugh, cannot but make the 
judicious grieve ; the censure of the which one, must, in your 
allowance, o'er-weigh a whole theatre of others.' For similar 
passages in Jonson's works, see Every Man In {Wks. 2. 14—20) ; 
Underwoods XXII {Wks. 8. 336) ; The Magnetic Lady, Act i. 
Chorus ; Explorata LXIX {Wks. 9. 153) ; The Staple of News 
{Wks. 5. 158). 

Ind. 115. Fly everything (you see) to the marke. This 
is an expression borrowed from the language of hawking. 
It means : Attack everything you see as quarry. See Glossary, 
and cf. Bartholomew Fair {Wks. 4. 395) : 

Edg. And in your singing, you must use your hawk's 
eye nimbly, and fly the purse to a mark still, — 

Ind. 118. Dietamen. See Glossary. Jonson used this 
term in The New Inn {Wks. 5. 355) : 

. . . use his own 
Dietamen, and his genius ; I would have him 
Fly high, and strike at all. 

Ind. 119. A good Play, is like a skeene of silke. Jonson 
used this figure before, comparing a skein of silk to something 
excellent ; see The New Inn {Wks. 5. 385) : 

Lov. It was a beauty that I saw 
... A skein of silk without a knot, 

1. 1. 4. Lady Loadstones (one will bid us welcome). The 

relative pronoun is frequently omitted, often where the 
antecedent immediately precedes the verb to which the 
relative would be the subject (see Abbott, Shakespearian 
Grammar, § 244). For other examples of the construction 
in this play, see i. 3. 26 ; i. 6. 16 ; 2. 3. 20 ; 2. 3. 70 ; 2. 6. 130 ; 

3. 3. 122 ; 3. 5. 49 ; 3. 5. 107 ; 4. 3. 7 ; 4. 5. 21 ; 4. 8. 9 ; 4. 8. 12 ; 

4. 8. 86 ; 5. 10. 41. 

1. 1. 19. Why Ironside, you know I am a Scholler. ' Here 
Jonson, as is not unfrequently his custom, speaks of himself 
through the mouth of Compass.' — C. 

I. I. 28. The line may be scanned as follows : 



ii8 The Magnetic Lady [ACT I 

And hand | e ling | of me | which hath | been faire ; too 

R and I after a consonant introduce an additional syllable. 
An extra syllable is frequently added before a pause, es- 
pecially at the end of a line. In Jonson this extra syllable is 
often a monosyllable ; cf. Abbott, Shakespearian Grammar, 
§ 477 and 455. 

1. 1. 40. But (being away) 

You' are sure to have lesse-wit-worke, gentle brother. 

Since my humor is as stubborn and unmanageable as the 
rest, if I stay away you will have less occasion for exerting 
your wits to draw the guests to a sufferance of themselves 
till the dissolution of the dinner. 

1. 1. 43. You doe mistake 

My Caract of your friendship. 

See the Glossary, s. v. Caract. Cf. Shaks. 2 Hen. IV 
4. 5. 162 : ' Thou best of Gold, art worst of Gold, Other, lesse 
fine of Charract, is more precious ' ; also Jonson, Every Man In 
3. 3. 22 : ' No beautie, no ; you are of too good caract. To be 
left so, without a guard.' — NED. 

1. 1. 47. your Foxe, there, 

Unkenneld with a Cholerick, ghastly aspect. 

Your sword there, unsheathed with an angry, fear-inspiring 
aspect. 

I. I. 61. 'In some words the accent is nearer the beginning 
•than with us ' (Abbott, § 492). 

But, Bro I ther, could | I o | ver in | treat you 

1. 1. 64. A sliding reprehension. A brief reprehension, as 
in passing. 

I.I. 67. 0' the by. Incidentally, without much effort 
on my part. 

I. I. 69—72. universall-acts. This is Aristotelian philoso- 
phy. In opposition to Plato, who held that ideas or uni- 
versal exist by themselves, above and apart from individual 
beings, Aristotle taught that reality subsists in individuals, 
and that universals exist only as real predicates of individual 
substances. This doctrine is found in the Categories, and 



ACT l] Explanatory Notes 119 

especially in the Metaphysics. See Aristotle, Wks., tr. Smith 
and Ross ; Vol. 8. Metaphysica : and article on Aristotle in 
Encycl. Brit. 

I. I. 80. It is difficult to scan this line execpt as an 
Alexandrine. 

I. I. 81. I unaccented in a polysyllable may be dropped 
(Abbott, § 467). 

They have | now pow | er save | with dull | Grammar(i) ans 

1. 1. 87. I dare assure you, hee's our Parish Pope! Cf. 

Chaucer (ed. Skeat 4. 8. 261—2) : 

But he was lyk a maister or a pope. 
Of double worsted was his semi-cope. 

By accenting the first syllable of betimes, the verse may be 
made regular (Abbott, § 492). 

That wee | may goe | to din | ner be | times Par ; son : 

I. 2. II. a strange put-off! This is a strange way of 
putting off or dismissing the doctor. 

I. 2. 12. You use him most surreverently. Surreverence is 
an abbreviated form of save-reverence, which became sa'- 
reverence, sirreverence, or sur -reverence. Nares defines it as 
' a kind of apologetical apostrophe, when anything is said 
that might be thought filthy or indecent.' The examples 
cited in Nares and NED. show that the expression implies 
only a mock reverence or respect for the person of rank 
spoken of or to : the connotation is generally contemptuous 
or disrespectful. See Massinger's A Very Woman 2. 3 : 
' The beastliest man — . . . (Sir -reverence of the company) — 
a rank whore-master ' ; G. Harvey's Pierce's Super. Wks., 
Grosart, 2. 270 : ' They neither feare Goodman Sathan, . . . nor 
Sir Reverence, nor milord Governement himselfe.' — NED. 

1.2. 22. hee hath first his blacks. The parson saw to it that 
the kindred should all be properly supplied with clothing 
that was worn as a sign of mourning. The antiquity of the 



120 The Magnetic Lady [act I 

custom of wearing black in mourning at funerals is discussed 
in Brand's Popular Antiquities 2. 281—4. 

I. 2. 23. Thus holds hee weddings up, and burials, As his 
maine tithing. Thus he maintains weddings and burials as 
his chief source of income. A tithe or tenth of the paris- 
hioner's income he was considered to owe to the maintenance 
of the church. 

I. 2. 27—8. In . . . can. Cf. Chaucer, Prologue (ed. Skeat 

371-2) : 

Everich, for the wisdom that he can, 
Was shaply for to been an alderman. 

I. 2. 28. of the Ward-mote Quest, he better can, 
The mysterie, then the Levitick Law. 

He better understands the workings of the court which was 
held in each ward of the city than he does the collections of 
ritual laws found in the book of Leviticus. Quest, according 
to Nares, is a popular abbreviation of inquest. He quotes 
Mir. for Mag., p. 390 : 

And covertly within the Tower they calde 
A quest, to give such verdit as they should. 

That the expression Ward-mote Quest means, the court that 
was held in the wards of the city is shown a passage in the 
play of Wisdom {E.'E.T. 1904, p. 59) in which Wrong, Slight, 
Doubleness, Falsehood, Ravine, and Deceit make up the 
Holborn Quest. Also in Bullen's edition of Arden of Fever- 
sham, Introduction, p. 5, he refers to the Faversham Wardmote 
Book. For can, see Glossary. This comes from the OE. pret- 
erite-present verb, cunnan, ' to know ' : its use as here employed, 
was common in ME. ; see Chaucer's Fn'ar, Prologue 210— 11 : 

In all the ordres foure is noon that can 
So much of daliaunce and fair langage. 

See also note on i. 2. 27. 

I. 2. 30. That peece 0! Clark-ship. That individual who 
partakes to some extent of the character of a scholar. NED. 
cites Sidney Apol. Poetrie (Arb.) 19: ' If I had not beene a 
peece of a Logician before I came to him.' 



ACT i] Explanatory Notes 121 

I. 2. 31. a fine 

Well furnish'd, and apparaled Divine. 

Ballman has noted the resemblance between Parson Palate 
and Chaucer's Friar ; see his Chaucer's Einfluss auf das Eng- 
lische Drama 2. 24—6. The prevalence of worldly pastors is 
accounted for by Stubbes in The Anatomy of Abuses (2. 2. 73) 
as due to the failure of the best men to get preferment : ' But 
alas those that are learned indeed, they are not sought for 
nor promoted, but the unlearned for the most part, somtimes 
by friendship, somtime by mony (for they pay wel their orders, 
I heare say) and somtimes by gifts (I dare not say bribes) are 
intruded. This maketh many a good schoolar to languish, 
and discourageth not a fewe from goyng to their bookes.' 
In Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy (i. 373), the same con- 
ditions are described : ' Rich men keep these Lectures, and 
fawning Parasites, like so many dogs, at their tables. . . . 
These are those Clerks which serve the turn, whom they com- 
monly entertain, and present to Church Livings, whilst in 
the mean time we that are University men, like so many hide- 
bound calves in a pasture, tarry out our time.' This con- 
dition had existed as far back as the time of Chaucer. See 
the character of the Clerk in the Prologue 291—2 : 

For he had geten him yet no benefyce, 
Ne was so worldly for to have offyce. 

I. 2. 32. Ed final may be sonant (Abbott § 474). 

Well fur I nish'd, and i appar | aled | Divine 

I. 2. 33. For metre, see note on i. i. 81. 

Who made | this Epi | gramme, you ? | No, a | great Clarke 

I. 2. 33. a great Clarke 

As any' is of his bulke. (Ben : lonson.) 

'Jonson's corpulence was in some measure the effect of 
disease ; for he was of a dropsical habit of body. In the 
Chorus to the third act of this play, he is called " an overgrown 
and superannuated poet." ' — G. ' Jonson had been thin 
enough at one time. In the Satiromastix (1602) one of the 



122 The Magnetic Lady [ACT I 

reproaches against him is, " Horace was a goodly corpulent 
gentleman, and not so leane a hollow-cheekt Scrag as thou 
art." '— C. 

For other of Jonson's references to his corpulence, see My 
Picture left in Scotland {Wks. 8. 312), and The Poet to the 
Painter {Wks. 8.425). 

The humor of the passage is reenforced by the pun suggested 
by the term hulke, which has, in addition to its present 
meaning, the obsolete one, ' the belly.' 

I, 2. 38. Rut is a young Physician. Ballman has noted 
the resemblance between Rut and Chaucer's Physician. 
See Chaucer's Einfluss 2. 25. 

I. 2. 39. That, letting God alone, ascribes to nature 
More then her share. 
Cf . Chaucer, Prologue 438 : 

His studie was but litel on the Bible. 

I. 2. 42. The slave of money. Cf. Chaucer, Prologue 
441-44 : 

And yet he was but esy of dispence ; 
He kepte that he wan in pestilence. 
For gold in phisik is a cordial, 
Therefore he lovede gold in special. 

I. 2. 42. a Buffon in manners. Buff on is an obsolete form 
of buffoon. It means ' a man whose profession is to make sport 
by low jests and antic postures ; a comic actor, or clown.' Jon- 
son had already used the Italian form of the wood {huff one) 
as a proper name : see Carlo Buffone, in Every Man Out. 

I. 2. 45. Is any thing but civill, or a man. Cf. Stubbes, 
Anatomy of Abuses 2. 52—5. Here we are informed that 
physicians would work only for money, that there were many 
ill taught doctors, and that any ignorant could set up as a 
surgeon or physician. Many of these were unprincipled in the 
treatment of their patients. In Sir Thomas Overbury's 
Characters, pub. 1614 (Morley's Character Writing of the 
Seventeenth Century, p. 83), the character of A Quack-Salver 
is similar in many respects to that of Dr. Rut, as described 
here and represented in the rest of the play. 



ACT l] Explanatory Notes 123 

I. 2. 47. The termination ion is frequently pronounced as 
two syllables at the end of a line (Abbott, § 479). 

In con I sulta | tion | afore I the doore. 

I. 3. I. ' Lines with four accents where there is a change of 
thought are not uncommon ' (Abbott, § 507)- 
I. 3. 5. Hinc illae lachrsmiae. Horace. Epodes 1. 19. 41. 
I. 3. 9. Madam may have the French accent (cf. Abbott, 
§ 490). 

He should | be forc'd, | Madam, | to lay | it down. 
I. 3. II. The verse is metrically irregular. 
Marry her | marry her | Madam. | Get her | married. 

I. 3. 13. Pursue your project reall. Pursue your project 
which is concerned with real property or money. Reall or 
real is a legal term meaning ' opposed to personal ' ; see Act. 
27 Hen. VIII, c. 26. 4 : ' All actions realles, hereafter shalbe 
conueied, perpetrated, or sued for any landes ' ; also tr. 
Littleton's Tenures 41 : 'If the villaine be demaundant in an 
accion reall, or plaintife in an action personal.' — NED. 

I. 3. 16. The metre requires contraction in pronunciation 
(cf . Abbott, § 462). For the extra syllable, see note to i. i. 28. 

Is a I fine wit | ty man ; | I saw him | goe i in, | now. 

I. 3. 17. a Fether. This may refer by way of synechdoche 
to the ' bravest ' article of Ironside's attire ; cf . 3. 3. 60 : 

Whereas Rud: Ironside, 
Although he ha' got his head into a Beaver, 
With a huge feather, 's but a Carriers sonne. 

The term is also used derogatively to signify a nobody, a 
mere nothing. Cf. The New Inn {Wks. 5. 337) : 

What antiquated feather's that that talks ? 

The connection between these two meanings is illustrated 
by a passage in Middleton's Father Hubbard's Tales (ed. 
Dyce, 5. 566) : ' His head was dressed up in white feathers 

I 



124 ^^^ Magnetic Lady [act i 

like a shuttle-cock, which agreed so well with his brain, being 
nothing but cork, that two of the biggest of the guard might 
very easily have tossed him with battledores, and made good 
sport with him in his majesty's great hall.' See also Pope's 
Essay on Man 4. 247—8 : 

A wit's a feather, and a chief a rod ; 

An honest man's the noblest work of God. 

I. 3. 28. For the rule governing the metre, see note on 
I. 2. 32. 

He is I by me | assign | ed for | my Neice. 

I. 3. 41. Any vowel unaccented in a polysyllable may be 
dropped (Abbott, § 468). 

Her talk | ing, sooth | ing, some | time govern | ing Gos sip. 

I. 4. 5. As Doctor Ridley writ, and Doctor Barlow? 

They both have wrote of you, and Mr. Compasse. 

Dr. Mark Ridley (1560— 1624) was a noted physician. He 
published in 1613 A Short Treatise of Magneticall Bodies and 
Motions. In 1617 he published Animadversions on a late Work 
entitled Magnetical Advertisement, a work written by Dr. 
Barlow.— Z)iV5. 

William Barlow (d. 1625) was archdeacon of Salisbury, 
and a writer on scientific subjects. He discovered many uses 
of the magnet or loadstone, and invented the compass-box. 
In 1616 he published a book called Magnetical Advertise- 
ment, which was soon attacked by Dr. Ridley. Barlow 
rejoined in A Brief Discovery of the Idle Animadversions of 
Mark Ridley.— W. and DNB. 

I. 4. II. This line is exceptional, since it contains but four 
accents. 

I. 4. 13. shoot at Buts. A hutt was a mark or target for 
archery practice. There were usually two butts, one at each 
extremity of the range ; hence the use of the plural. NED. 
cites the following from Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 89 : 
' An archier to faile of a butte is no wonder, but to hytte the 
pryke is a great maistrie.' 



ACT i] Explanatory Notes 125 

I. 4. 14. but she can cranch 

A sack of small coale ! 

No wonder the doctor exaggerated, when greater marvels 
could be found in the writings of ' worthy Philosophers and 
Physicians . . . and religious Professors in famous Universities, 
who are able to patronize that which they have said, and 
vindicate themselves from all cavillers and ignorant persons.' 
Burton, in The Anatomy of Melancholy (i. 2. 229—30) recites 
a story of demonic possession out of ' most approved Physi- 
cians' : ' Cornelius Gemma . . . relates of a young maid . . . 
that had such strange passions and convulsions, three men 
could not sometimes hold her ; she purged a live eel, which 
he saw, a foot and a half long, and touched himself, but the 
eel afterwards vanished ; she vomited some 24 pounds of 
fulsome stuff of all colours twice a day for 14 days ; and after 
that she voided great balls of hair, pieces of wood, pigeons' 
dung, parchment, goose dung, coals ; and after them two 
pounds of pure blood, and then again coals and stones, of 
which some had inscriptions, bigger than a walnut, some of 
them pieces of glass, brass, &c., besides paroxysms of laughing, 
weeping and ecstasies.' The doctor diagnoses the case as the 
green sickness, but it is discovered later to be a well advanced 
case of pregnancy. The symptoms of both conditions are, 
however, similar, as the appetite is at these times very 
capricious. NED. cites R. James, Introd. Moufet's Health's 
Improv. 21 : ' The Mischief that young Girls do themselves, 
who are inclined to . . . the green Sickness, by taking great 
Quantities of Chalk, Lime, and other Absorbents.' The fact 
that pregnant women have strange appetites was well known. 
In Bartholomew Fair, Win. Littlewit's desire to eat roast 
pig in the fair induced Dame Purecraft and Zeal-of-the-land 
Busy to enter, and become involved in the day's escapades. 

I. 4. 16. a dainty spice 

0' the greene sicknesse! 

A rare specimen of the green sickness ; for separate words, see 
the Glossary. 

I. 4. 17. 'Od sheild ! ' God forbid, or God protect.' 

I 2 



126 The Magnetic Lady [ACT I 

I. 4. 41. she had the sweat 

Both o£ my browes and brains. 

Alluding to Gen. 3. 19. 
I. 4. 48. I sure thought 

She had a Lease of talking, for nine lives. 

A lease or grant was sometimes made for one, two, three or 
more lives. Cf. Milton, Ch. Govt, 2. Introd. Wks. (1847) 
43. I : ' As men buy Leases, for three lives and downward.' 
—NED. 

I. 4. 50. The line may be scanned as follows : 

It may | be sh(e) has. | Sir six | teene thou | sand pound. 

I. 4. 58. The line is irregular, the last foot being a trochee. 

With that I vaine world, | till, as | 'twas prov'd, | aft '■. er, 

I. 4. 59. to good uses. A Latinism : in pios usus. 

I. 5. II. the Spitle Preachers ! Spitle is an obsolete con- 
traction of hospital. Wright mentions a place called Spittal 
Hill, ' near the site of the ancient hospital or infirmary.' 
Halliwell defines Spittle-sermons : ' Sermons preached formerly 
at the Spittle, in a pulpit erected for the purpose, and after- 
wards at Christchurch, City, on Easter Monday and Tuesday.' 
Nares cites Cleveland, 1651 : ' I look upon your letter as a 
spittle sermon, where I perceive your ambition how you 
would prove yourself a clean beast, because you know how 
to chew the cud.' 

I. 5. 12. The Arminians ? Believers in the doctrines of 
James Arminius (Jacobus Harmensen), a Protestant divine 
of Leyden, (1560— 1609). They separated from the Calvinists, 
objecting to their doctrine of predestination. — CD. The Cal- 
vinistic controversy became general in England soon after the 
S5niod of Dort in 1618 ; see J. B. Marsden, The History of the 
Early Puritans, pp. 335—375. Calvinism was soon banished 
from the High Church party, but retained its place among the 
Puritans. ' The growth of Arminianism was another cause of 
anxiety to the Puritans (Marsden, p. 359). They were now 



ACT i] Explanatory Notes 127 

rigid Calvinists ; many of their leaders insisted with per- 
emptory dogmatism upon points on which the reformers had 
spoken, if not with reserve, with caution and humiUty. A 
reaction of necessity took place. . . . We begin to find 
Arminianism, in the fears of the Puritans, curiously entwined 
with Popery ; and in fact the house of commons, a few years 
afterwards, vehemently denounced the two, as the growing 
evil which threatened to overwhelm both liberty and religion.' 

I. 5. 18. And then the Persians, were our Puritanes. 
This seems to be a pun or jingle on Persians and piercing 
(persing) wits in the next line. Pierce was pronounced perse 
or purse ; cf . Nashe's Pierce Pennilesse. 

I. 5. 22. Their branching sleeves, brancht cassocks, and 
brancht doctrine. The branching sleeves and brancht cassocks 
refer to the surplice and the cassock worn by the Anglican 
clergy. Brancht doctrine perhaps refers to Polish's view 
that the doctrines of the Anglican Church were divided from, 
or beside, their texts. 

I. 5. 24. I respect no Persons. Persons was changed to 
parsons in 1692 and subsequent editions. The form parson, 
however, was in use when this play was written, as Jonson 
employs it in the same line, as well as in other places. I sus- 
pect that his use of the archaic form was intentional, as the 
phrase, ' to respect no persons,' has an element of Biblical 
connotation highly ludicrous under the circumstances, a 
connotation which is lost by the change of form. Cf. Rom. 
2. II ; Eph. 6. 9 ; Col. 3. 25 ; Jas. 2. i. NED. gives parson 
at an obs. form of person ; and there must have been much 
confusion in the pronunciation of these words. 

I. 5. 25. The scansion of these two lines may be made 
regular by altering the divisions of the lines : 

Chaplins | or Doc | tors I | will speak. | Yes, so't 
be reas | on let | her Death, ] she cannot | speake reas ; on. 

Or the verse may be scanned thus : 

Let her. | Death, she | cannot | speake reas : on. 



128 The Magnetic Lady [act i 

1. 5. 36. For the rule governing the metre, see note on i. 2. 32. 
She was | too learn | 'd to | live long | with us ! 

I- 5. 38. pricks. See the Glossary. 

I. 5. 38. had all her Masoreth. The term Masoreth, or 
Masorah, designates ' the system of critical notes on the 
external form of the Biblical text. This system of notes 
represents the literary labors of which the beginning falls 
probably in pre-Maccabean times and the end reaches to 
they ear 1425.' For further information, see the Jewish En- 
cyclopedia, Vol. 8, 

I. 5. 39. Knew Burton, and his Bull ; and scribe Prin-Gent ! 
Praesto-be-gon : and all the Pharisees. 

Henry Burton (1578— 1648) was a Puritan divine. He 
graduated M.A. at Cambridge in 1602. He early became 
involved in theological controversy, and in 1627 published 
The Baiting of the Pope's Bull. His attack upon the bishops 
continued, and in 1636 he was condemned to be deprived 
of his benefice, degraded from the ministry and his degrees, 
to be fined, have his ears cut off, and suffer perpetual im- 
prisonment. After the rise of the Puritans to power his 
sentence was reversed, and he returned to public life. 

William Prynne (1600—69) was a Puritan pamphleteer. 
He graduated B.A. at Oxford in 1621, studied at Lincoln's 
Inn, and was called to the bar in 1628. In his theological 
writings he first attacked Arminianism. About 1624 he 
commenced a book against stage-plays, which was pubhshed 
in 1632 under the title, Histriomastix. As one passage 
reflecting on the character of female actors was construed as an 
aspersion on the queen, Prynne was imprisoned, fined, deprived 
of his degrees, and condemned to lose his ears in the pillory. 
He continued to write against the bishops during his imprison- 
ment, and in 1636 was once more fined, and sentenced to 
imprisonment for life, and to lose the rest of his ears. After 
the assembling of the Long Parliament, his sentences were 
declared illegal, and he was restored to public life. For 
further information about Burton and Prynne, see Traill's 
Social England 4. 165—6, and DNB. An account of the 



ACT l] Explanatory Notes 129 

trial of Burton and Prynne is found in Harl. Misc. 4. 12. 
Whalley suggests that the term, Praesto-be-gon, may refer 
to Dr. Preston. John Preston, D.D. (1587— 1628), was a 
Puritan divine. He is said to have influenced Prynne, and 
confirmed him in his militant Puritanism. ' A reflection 
on Prynne seems to be intended by the introduction of the 
word gent. I am not much acquainted with the title-pages 
of his multifarious works ; but some exception appears to 
have been taken at his designation of his quality, since the 
same circumstance is ridiculed by Cowley : 

Written by WiUiam Prynne, Esquire, the 

Yeare of our Lord, sixteen hundred, thirty three. — G. 

Below are extracts from title-pages to several of Prynne's 
works : 

A Fresh Discovery of some Prodigious New Wandring- 
Blasing-Stars, & Firebrands, Stiling themselves New- 
Lights. . . . Published for the Common good by William 
Prynne of Lincolns Inne, Esquire. 

A Breviate of the Life of William Laud. . . . By William 
Prynne of Lincolnes Inne, Esquire. 

The Church of Englands Old Antithesis to New Armini- 
asme. . . . By William Prynne Gent Hospitii Lincol- 
niensis. 

I. 5. 40. For rules governing metre, see notes on i. i. 81 
and I. 3. 41. 

Praesto | -be-gon : | and all | the Pharisees. | Deare Gossip. 

I. 5. 45. But when she is impertinent, growes earnest. 

Impertinent here means ' out of place, in the society of superiors.' 
A similar use of the term is found in 3. 5. 42 : 

For (to tell you truth) this Knight, 
Is an impertinent in Court, (wee thinke him :) 
And troubles my Lords Lodgings, and his Table 
With frequent, and unnecessary visits. 

I. 5. 49. after hpr long grace. This is probably a thrust 
at the Puritans, whose habit of saying long graces Jonson had 
satirized before. Polish, as I have pointed out (Introduction, 



130 The Magnetic Lady [ACT r 

p.xvii) has decided affinities with the Puritans. Ste Barthol- 
omew Fair {Wks. 4. 363) : 

Dost thou ever think to bring thine ears or stomach to 
the patience of a dry grace, as long as thy table-cloth ; 
and droned out by the son here . . . till all the meat on 
thy board has forgot it was that day in the kitchen ? 

I. 5. 60. Sometimes an unemphatic monosyllable is allowed 
to stand in an emphatic place, and to receive an accent 
(Abbott, § 457). 

For all I his murth | ers, is | in as | good case 

I. 6. 2. the Artick ! And th' Antartick ! 

Jonson applies these terms to the courtier and the lawyer, 
because they are the favorites of Lady Loadstone among the 
suitors for the hand of her niece ; thinking of her as a magnet, 
he conceives them figuratively as the north and south magnetic 
poles. 

I. 6. 4. A Courtier extraordinary. For a similar portrayal, 
see the character of A Courtier in Morley's Character Writing 
of the Seventeenth Century, p. 31 : ' A courtier, to all men's 
thinking, is a man, and to most men the finest ; all things else 
are defined by the understanding, but this by the senses ; but 
his surest mark is, that he is to be found only about princes. 
He smells, and putteth away much of his judgment about the 
situation of his clothes.' See also Morley (p. 179), the 
character oi An Idle Gallant : ' An idle gallant is one that was 
born and shaped for his cloaths ; and, if Adam had not fallen, 
had lived to no purpose. . . . His first care is his dress, the next 
his body, and in the uniting of these two lies his soul and 
its faculties.' Satire of the fashionable gallant is found 
throughout Jonson's comedies. Of the courtier, particularly, 
he has drawn satiric portraits in Fastidious Brisk in Every Man 
Out, and Hedon in Cynthia's Revels. For Jonson's charac- 
terizations in Cynthia's Revels, see Wks. 2. 238—49 ; 242—4 ; 
and the Palinode 357—59. 

I. 6. 14. Or man of Law: (for that's the true writing). 
Ballman suggests that Jonson calls Practice a man of law 



ACT l] Explanatory Notes 131 

instead of a lawyer because this is the designation that 
Chaucer used. 

I. 6. 17. an invasion, Another eighty eight. The attack of 
the Spaniards, and the defeat of the Armada, occurred in 1588. 

I. 5. 20. Then Syracusa's Sack, on Archimede. An ac- 
count of the death of Archimedes is found in Livy, Bk. 25, 
cap. 31. Cicero mentions it briefly in De Finibus Bonorum 
et Malorum 5. 50 : Quern enim ardorem studii censetis fuisse 
in Archimede, qui dum in pulvere qusedam describet attentius, 
ne patriam quidem captam esse senserit ? 

1. 6. 22. Guard. See the Glossary, and cf. Beaumont 
and Fletcher, The Woman-Hater i. 50 : 

We shall be call'd to be examiners. 

Wear politic gowns garded with copper-lace, 

1 . 6. 31 . to their inches. According to their capacity. The 
expression is unintelligible from the context, but the meaning 
is made clear by reference to a passage in Bartholomew Fair 
{Wks. 4. 362—3) : ' I'll be sworn, sone of them that thou art, 
or hast been a suitor to, are so old, as no chaste or married 
pleasure can ever become them ; the honest instrument of 
procreation has forty years, since left to belong to them ; 
thou must visit them as thou would a tomb, with a torch or 
three handfuls of link, flaming hot, and so thou mayst hap 
to make them feel thee and after come to inherit according to 
thy inches.' Whalley traces this expression to Juvenal, 
Sat. I. I. 41 : ' Partes quisque suas, ad mensuram inguinis 
haeres.' 

I- 6. 35. by Logorythmes. A logarithm is ' one of a parti- 
cular class of arithmetical functions, invented by John Napier 
of Merchiston (died 1617), and tabulated for use as a means 
of abridging calculation.' NED. 

I. 6. 39. no paralaxe at all. 

In his pecuniary observations ! 

Paralaxe, a form of Parallax, is a term borrowed from 
astronomy ; NED. defines it as ' apparent displacement, 
or difference in the apparent position of an object, caused by 
actual change (or difference) of position of the point of 



132 The Magnetic Lady [ACT I 

observation.' The term is used in a general sense as ' change ' 
or ' alteration.' 

1.7.8. For the rule governing the metre, see note on i . 2 . 32 . 

And be | prescrib | ed by | him, in | affaires 

I. 7. 26. you may weare him. Cf. Hamlet 3. 2. 66—9 : 

Give me that man 
That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him 
In my heart's core, ay, in my heart of heart. 
As I do thee. 

I. 7. 27. or hang him in your eare ! Stubbes notes the 
custom of wearing jewels in the ear {Anat. of Abuses, p. 70) : 
' Another sorte of dissolute minions & wanton Sempronians 
(for I can term them no better) are so far bewitched, as they 
are not ashamed to make holes in their eares, wherat they 
hang rings, and other Jewels of gold and precious stones. 
. . . But because this is not so much frequented amongest 
Women as Men, I will say noe more thereof, untill further 
occasion be offred,' The custom of men's wearing rings and 
jewels in the ears is frequently alluded to in the dramatists ; 
see Every Man Out {Wks. 2. 20) : 

. . . and hang my richest words 
As pohsh'd jewels in their bounteous ears : 

and Every Man In (Wks. i. 127) : ' I'll pawn this jewel in 
my ear.'- — ^Whalley. For other instances, see Whalley's 
notes to these passages. 

I. 7. 30. cut from the Quar of Macchiavel. In Edward 
Meyer's Machiavelli and the Elizabethan Drama {Litterar- 
historische Forschungen i. 147), he gives the following brief 
discussion of Bias : ' In his Magnetic Lady Jonson again 
sneered at, and undertook to ridicule the Machiavellian 
counsellor so long the demon of the stage. In the Dramatis 
Personae Bias is called "a vi-politic, or sub-secretary." 
Compass says of him : 

" A vi-politic 
Or a sub-aiding instrument of state." 

and Sir Moth introduces him to Lady Loadstone thus : 



ACT l] Explanatory Notes 133 

" I have brought you here the very man, the jewel 
. . . The brooch to any true state cap in Europe ! " 

But he proves, of course, a caricature, being a mere puppet 
in Sir Moth's hands. Like Ateukin, he is dismayed imme- 
diately his position becomes a little dangerous.' 

I. 7. 31. a true Cornelian, As Tacitus himselfe! Punning 
upon Tacitus' gentile name, Cornelius. The spelling cornelian, 
is preferable ; carnelian is due to a false etymology. 

I. 7. 33. The brooch to any true State-cap in Europe! Cf. 
The Poetaster [Wks. 2. 383—4) : ' Honour's a good brooch 
to wear in a man's hat at all times.' Gifford, in a note to 
this passage, observes that the wearing of ornaments in the 
front of the hat was in fashion during the 15th and i6th 
centuries. This fashion extended to all ranks of society, so 
that brooches were often made of the base metals, or even 
of leather. The brooch to a state-cap was, of course, set with 
the costliest gems. 

I. 7. 36. 'Ware your true jests. Bohn, Polyglot : ' True 
jokes never please.' ' Bourdes vrayes ne plaisent jamais.' 
' Scherze nicht mit Ernst (motto of the Margrave of Branden- 
burg).' ' There is no worse joke than a true one.' ' Non 
ci e la peggior burla che la vera.' ' No hay peor burla que la 
verdadera.' 

I. 7. 38. Carract. See note on 1. 1. 43. 

I. 7. 39. unvaluable. We should say invaluable. 

I. 7. 41. Corrant's, Avises, Correspondences. For the mean- 
ing of these terms, see the Glossary : they are all now obsolete 
in meaning. NED. gives the following illustrations of the 
meaning : 

HabingtonCastara (Arb.) 102, ' This vault shall furnish 
thee With more aviso's, then thy costly spyes.' 

Strangling Gt. Turk in Harl. Misc. (Malh. V. 190 : 
' Shameless reports of strange men, and weak certific- 
ates by courants from foreign parts.' 

Massinger Unnat. Combat i. i: 

If your father . . . 
Held not or correspondence, or connived 
At his proceedings. 



134 ^^^ Magnetic Lady [ACT I 

I. 7. 45. Int. And lock it in the Cabinet of his memory — . 
Com. Tiirt tume a politique insect. 

The point of Compass' remark lies in the two meanings of 
the word cabinet, i, ' a case for the safe custody of letters 
or other valuables, 2, the council chamber.' 

I. 7. 63. Which by the truer stile, 

Some call a formall, flat servility. 

Burton, discussing the evils of ambition {Anat. of Mel. i. 
326—7), expresses the same thought : ' For commonly they 
that, like Sisyphus, roll this restless stone of ambition, are 
in a perpetual agony, still perplexed, . . . doubtful, timorous, 
suspicious, loth to offend in word or deed, still cogging and 
colloguing, embracing, capping, cringing, applauding, flatte- 
ring, fleering, visiting, waiting at men's doors, with all affa- 
bihty, counterfeit honesty and humility. ... It is a wonder 
to see how slavishly these kind of men subject themselves, 
when they are about a suit, to every inferior person ; what 
pains they will take, run, ride, cast, plot, countermine, protest 
and swear, vow, promise, what labours undergo, early up, 
down late ; how obsequious and affable they are, how po- 
pular and courteous, how they grin and fleer upon every 
man they meet.' 

I. 7. 68. For the rule governing the metre, see note on 
I. I. 81. 

The wear | ing the | callott ; | the polit | ique hood : 

I. 7. 70. You Seculars understand not. An analogous sa- 
tire upon young statesmen is found in Jonson's The New Cry 
(Wks. 8. 194) : 

Ripe statesmen, ripe ! they grow in every street ; 

At six and twenty, ripe. You shall them meet. 

And have them yield no savour, but of state. 

Ripe are their ruffs, their cuffs, their beards, their gait. 

And grave as ripe, like mellow as their faces. 

They know the states of Christendom, not the places ; 

Yet they have seen the maps, and bought 'em too, 

And understand them, as most chapmen do. 

The councils, projects, practices they know, 

And what each prince doth for intelligence owe. 



ACT i] Explanatory Notes 135 

And unto whom ; they are the ahnanacks, 

For twelve years yet to come, what each state lacks. 

They carry in their pockets Tacitus, 

And the Gazette, or Gallo-Belgicus ; 

And talk reserv'd, lock'd up, and full of fear. 

Nay, ask you, how the day goes, in your ear ; 

Keep a Star-chamber sentence close twelve days. 

And whisper what a Proclamation says. 

. . . and ... do not only shun 

Others more modest, but contemn us too. 

That know not so much state, wrong, as they do. 



I. 7. 76. A Nemo scit. A no one knows. 

I. Ch. II. The Clock should strike five, at once, with the 
Acts. You would have the conclusion presented at once, 
without waiting for the formal exposition, complication, and 
resolution, of the classical five-act comedy. 

I. Ch. 15. So, if a Child. Jonson is defending the rule 
of unity of time : see Schelling's ed. of Timber, p. 85 : 'So 
it behoves the action in tragedy or comedy to be let grow till 
the necessity ask a conclusion ; wherin two things are to be 
considered : first, that it exceed not the compass of one day.' 
In Sidney's Defense of Poesy (ed. Cook, p. 49), he takes the 
same exception to the violation of this rule that Jonson does : 
' Now of time they are much more liberal. For ordinary it 
is that two young princes fall in love ; after many traverses 
she is got with child, delivered of a fair boy, he is lost, groweth 
a man, falleth in love, and is ready to get another child — and 
all this in two hours' space ' ; Beaumont and Fletcher's 
The Knight of the Burning Pestle was written in ridicule of 
the extravagances of this class of romances and chivalric 
dramas ; see Murch's edition. Introduction, pp. LXV— XCV. 
Jonson also condemns the ' miracles ' and unreality of the 
romances in The Silent Woman [Wks. 3. 409) : ' True. Yes, 
but you must leave to live in your chamber, then, a month 
together upon Amadis de Gaul, or Don Quixote, as you are 
wont ; and come abroad where the matter is frequent, to 
court, to tiltings, pubHc shows and feasts, to plays, and 
church sometimes : ... In these places a man shall find whom 



136 The Magnetic Lady [act i 

to love, whom to play with, whom to touch once, whom to 
hold ever. The variety arrests his judgment.' 

I. Ch. 19. kill Pajmims. The killing of pagans was a 
regular occupation in the romance ; these pagan foes were 
readily accessible in Christian countries. See the adventures 
of the Redcross Knight, Spenser's Faerie Queene, Book I. 

I. Ch. 19. wild Boores, dun Cowes, and other Monsters. 
Jonson is alluding to the well known romance. The History 
of Guy, Earl of Warwick. In chap. 11 oiMoxley's Early Prose 
Romances, there is an account of how Guy killed a monstrous 
boar, and a dreadful dragon; in chap. 6 is the account 
of his destruction of a monstrous dun cow upon Duns- 
more Heath ; and in chap. 9, the story of his slaying a 
dragon. 

I. Ch. 21. all to be laden with miracles. All-to-be means 
very much, entirely. See Tennant's discussion (ed. of The New 
Inn, p. 279) ; Bartholomew Fair {Wks. 4. 486) : ' They do so 
all-to-be madam me ' ; Cynthia's Revels {Wks. 2. 283) : ' how 
he does all-to-be qualify her ! ' ; Magnetic Lady, 5. 2. 2, 
all-to-be married ' ; ibid. 5. 2. 12 ; ' all-to-be kist.' 

I. Ch. 23. These miracles would please, I assure you: and 
take the People. See the Glossary, s. v. miracle. The 
English theatre-going classes had shown a penchant for the 
romantic drama ; and probably much of Jonson's quarrel 
with them arose from the fact that he was a realist and a 
classicist. From 1590 to about 1600 romantic comedy, 
notably Shakespeare's, was the popular form. From about 
1601 or 1602 until the success of Philaster in 1608, tragedy 
and realistic and satiric comedy held the stage ; see Thorn- 
dike, The Influence of Beaumont and Fletcher on Shakespeare. 
With the success of Philaster, Beaumont and Fletcher led the 
vogue of romantic drama, or plays emphasizing plot, dealing 
with motives of love and adventure in a foreign setting, and 
utilizing every device which made for theatrical variety and 
surprise. From the composition of The Devil is an Ass (acted 
1616) until he wrote The Staple of News (acted 1626), Jonson 
was chiefly busy in writing masques ; and when he returned 
to the drama after 1625, he found he could not get the hold 



ACT i] Explanatory Notes lyj 

upon the people which he had had when he wrote his greatest 
plays, and when tragedy and satire were in vogue. 

I. Ch. 26. Hokos-pokos. ' Appears early in 17th c, as 
the appelation of a juggler (and, apparently, as the assumed 
name of a particular conjuror) derived from the sham Latin 
formula employed by him.' NED. 

NED. cites Tillotson, Serm. XXVI (1742) II. 237 : ' In all 
probability those common juggling words of hocus pocus are 
nothing else but a corruption of hoc est corpus, by way of 
ridiculous imitation of the priests of the Church of Rome 
in their trick of Transubstantiation.' Brand says {Anti- 
quities 3. 61) : ' Ady, in his Candle in the Dark, p. 29, speaking 
of common jugglers, that go up and down to play their tricks 
in fayrs and markets, says : " I will speak of one man more 
excelling in that craft than others, that went about in King 
James his time, and long since, who called himself the King's 
Majesties most excellent Hocus Pocus, and so was he called, 
because that at the playing of every trick he used to say : 
'Hocus pocus, tontus, talontus, vade celeriter jubeo,' ' a darke 
composure of words to blinde the eyes of beholders." ' Jonson 
used this term in The Staple of News {Wks. 5. 216) : ' That was 
the old way, gossip, when Iniquity came in like Hokos Pokos, 
in a jugler's jerkin, with false skirts, like the knave of clubs ' ; 
and in The Masque of Augurs {Wks. 7. 420) : ' Hocos Pocos ! 
paucos palabros ! ' 

I. Ch. 27. Travitanto Tudesko. ' This Italian juggler is 
mentioned in the Epig. He was in London in the early 
part of the reign of James.' — G. 

In Epigram CXV, Jonson, writing about the town vice, 
says : 

The cloth's no sooner gone, but it gets up, 
And shifting of its faces, doth play more 
Parts than the Italian could do, with his door. 

But, as Cunningham notes, it is not at all clear that Travi- 
tanto Tudesco is identical with the Italian here mentioned. 
I. Ch. 30. expect no more hereafter, than they understand. 
Jonson used this expression in the Induction to The Staple of 
News {Wks. 5. 152) : 



138 The Magnetic Lady [ACT I 

Pro. We ask no favour from you ; only we would 
entreat of Madam Expectation — 

Expect. What, master Prologue ? 

Pro. That your ladyship would expect no more than 
you understand. 

The same expression is found in the Induction to Bartholomew 
Fair {Wks. 4. 348) : ' It is further covenanted, concluded, 
and agreed, That how great soever the expectation be, no 
person here is to expect more than he knows.' For another 
instance, see Neptune's Triumph {Wks. 8. 24). 

I. Ch. 32. my peremptory Jack? See the Glossary, s. v. 
Jack ; and cf. The Staple of News {Wks. 5. 210) : 

P. sen. Hold your peace. You are a Jack. 
P. jun. Uncle, he shall be a John, 
An you go to that ; as good a man as you are 

NED. says John was ' used as a representative proper name 
for a footman, butler, waiter, messenger, or the like.' The 
distinction between a John and a Jack seems to be that 
between an honest fellow or servant and a knave. 

I. Ch. 33. who expect what is impossible, or beyond nature, 
defraud themselves. In Every Man Out {Wks. 2. 109), Jonson 
defends his own practice by Cicero's definition of comedy : 
* imitatio vitse, speculum consuetudinis, imago veritatis.' 

I, Ch. 39. Mrs. Madam Expectation. This personification 
is another of Jonson's reminiscenses from his usage in earlier 
plays ; it is found in The Staple of News {Wks. 5. 152) ; also 
in Neptune's Triumph {Wks. 8. 24). See note on i. Ch. 30. 

I. Ch. 44. velvet Lethargy. See note on the Induction, 32. 

I. Ch. 48—9. if . . . all. King Charles had proved an appre- 
ciative and fairly liberal patron to Jonson. An epilogue which 
Jonson wrote for The New Inn, in which he lamented his 
broken health, caused Charles to send the poet a gift of a 
hundred pounds. The king increased the allowance of 100 
marks which his father had made to Jonson to 100 pounds, 
and added also a tierce of Canary wine : Gifford, Memoirs 
of Ben Jonson {Wks. 1. CXXVII-CXXVIII). The epilogue 
to this play re-emphasizes this attidude of deference and 
gratitude. As early as the composition of Cynthia's Revels, 



ACT i] Explanatory Notes 139 

Jonson was flattering Queen Elizabeth. This flattery of 
nobles and monarchs by literary men was almost unavoidable, 
as the reading public at that time was small. The case of 
Dryden will be recalled as a parallel. Milton, however, 
preferred independence and poverty. Alexander Pope was 
one of the earliest of English literary men to attain a 
competence by the use of his pen, and independently of 
patronage. 

I. Ch. 49. But his clothes shall never be the best thing about 
him. Jonson expressed very forcibly, in De mollibus et effoemi- 
natis {Expiorata : Wks. 9. 181— 2), his contempt for those whose 
clothes are the best thing about them. Stubbes {The Ana- 
tomy of Abuses, pp. 41—2) expresses the same sentiment : ' If 
any be so foolish to ymagin that he shalbe worshipped, 
reuerenced, or accepted the rather for his apparell, he is not 
so wyse as I pray God make me. For surely, for my part, 
I will rather worshippe & accept of a pore man (in the clowtes 
& pore raggs) having the gifts and ornaments of the mind, 
than I will do him that roisteth & flaunteth daylie & howrely 
in his silks, velvets, satens, damasks, gold or silver, what 
soeuer, without the induments of vertue, wherto only al 
reuerence is due.' 

I. C. 52. shall speak him a man. This use of speak with a 
direct personal object is found in The Silent Woman {Wks. 
3. 380) : ' Nay, he has a thousand things as good, that will 
speak him all day.' Aurelia Henry, in her edition of this play, 
calls it 'a Jonsonian invention.' Speak with a direct object 
is found in the dictionaries only as a nautical term, e.g. {CD.) 
Dana, Two Years Before the Mast : ' About six bells, that is 
three o'clock p. m., we saw a sail on our larboard bow. I was 
very desirous, like every new sailor, to speak her.' 

I. Ch. 54. Himself e hath done that, already, against Envy. 
Jonson refers here, of course, to The Poetaster. In the In- 
duction to this play {Wks. 2. 369), a personification of envy 
appears upon the stage, but has to withdraw, baffled. See 
Mallory's edition of The Poetaster, p. XXXVIII, and Small's 
The Stage-Quarrel between Ben Jonson and the Socalled 
Poetasters. 

K 



140 The Magnetic Lady [ACT II 

I. Ch. 5g. Or rather sawcy. The pun, of course, is on the 
two meanings of sauce — as impertinence, and as a condiment. 

I. Ch. 60. we doe call a Spade, a Spade, in Comewall. 
' To call a spade a spade, to call things by their proper names, 
even though these may seem homely or coarse ; speak plainly 
and without mincing matters.' CD. 

1. Ch. 62. Good Boy. Good may not be an adjective 
modifying Boy, but an adverb ; and Boy may be a vocative. 
For the use of the vocative not preceded by a comma, see 
Percy Simpson's Shakespearian Punctuation, p. 20. 

2. 1. 3. Store is no sore. Bohn, Polyglot : ' Store is no 
sore.' ' Vorrath nimmer schadet.' John Claypoole's Moral 
Satire, 1608, in Hazlitt's English Proverbs : 

O wretched man, that doth in want abound 
Amidst thy wealth. Thy store a sore is found. 

2. I. 6. For rules governing metre, see notes on i. i. 28 
and I. 5. 60. 

Fixe up I on one, | good Mis ] tris. At | this call, i too, 

2. 1. 8. Of purpose. We would say on purpose. Cf. 
I Henry F7 5. 4. 22 : 'Of purpose to obscure my noble 
birth ' ; also The Poetaster {Wks. 2. 477) : 

See then this chair, of purpose set for thee 
To read thy poem in ; 

See Abbott's Shakespearian Grammar, § 168. 

2. 1. 9. 'Tis thought to be the man. // could formerly be 
used where he would now be preferred. Cf. F. c'est, Ger. 
es ist. Shaks. Merch. of Ven. 3. 3. 18 : ' It is the most 
impenetrable curre That ever kept with men ' ; Macb. i. 4. 58 : 
' It is a peerelesse Kinsman.' — NED. 

2. 1. 13. I not like that. In early English the auxiUary 
do was often omitted before not. Cf. The Tempest (2. i. 121) : 
' I not doubt.' Idem. 5. i. 38. ' Whereof the ewe not bites.' 

2 Henry IV (4. i. 98). ' It not belongs to me.' Ab- 
bott, § 305. 



ACT il] Explanatory Notes 141 

2. 1. 17. Lady Diaphanous sounds most delicate ! See the 

Glossary, s. v. delicate. I find from NED. that the term 
diaphanous often had a pleasing or complimentary conno- 
tation : ' With this was worn a diaphanous white picture hat 
caught up with . . . white ribbons.' E. Hooker, Pref. Epist. 
Portage's Mystic Div. : ' Most Diaphanously, perspicously, no 
less clearly . . . than the Sun Beams upon a Wall of Crystall.' 

2. 1. 18. Cannot tell. ' / cannot tell was a common phrase 
in old plays : it meant / know not what to say or think of 
it ' — Halliwell, Arch, and Prov. Diet. Cf . Bartholomew Fair 
(Wks. 4. 360): 

' Quar. I pray thee what ailest thou, thou canst 
not sleep ? hast thou thorns in thy eyelids, or thistles 
in the bed ? 

Winw. I cannot tell: it seems you had neither in your 
feet that took this pain to find me.' 

2. 2. 2. chanting on? 'On is frequently used where we 
use of in the sense of about ' (Abbott's Shakesperian Grammar, 
§ 181) : 

I Henry IV (5. 2. 71) : ' Enamour'd on his follies.' 
Hamlet (i. i. 55) : ' What think you on't ?' 

2. 2. 5. The V in have may be softened in pronunciation 
(Abbott, § 466). 

Shee shall | have a man | good Nurse | and must | have 
a man. 

2. 2. 6. A man, and a halfe. Punning on the meaning of 
half as a husband. The term is still in use as applied to 
' a wife,' i. e., ' better half.' 

2. 2. 9. Who's wiser then all us. The grammatically 
correct form would be all we, or all of us ; but the inflections 
of personal pronouns were frequently neglected or misused by 
Elizabethan writers (Abbott, § 205). In the present case, 
grammar jdelds to euphony. 

2. 2. 10. to prick out the man? Punning on the name. 
Needle, and the meaning of prick, ' to choose, pick.' 

K2 



142 The Magnetic Lady [ACT II 

2. 2. 27. Dame Keepe oi EatemesP Katernes is a con- 
traction of Katherines. Katherine's Street runs from the 
Tower to the London Docks. — ^Wheatley & Cunningham, 
London Past and Present, Vol. 2. See the reference to Shad- 
well two lines below, and the note. 

2. 2. 27. have you an oare I' the Cockboat. The phrase 
' to have an oar in every man's boat,' means ' to have a hand 
in every one's business.' — NED. 

2. 2. 28. a Saylors wife? And come from Shadwell? 
' Shadwell, on the left bank of the Thames, between Wapping 
and Limehouse, formerly a hamlet of Stepney, but created 
a distinct parish in 1670. London docks are partly within this 
parish. The occupations are chiefly maritime.' — ^Wheatley 
and Cunningham, London Past and Present, 3. 236—7. 

2. 2. 29. I say a remora: 

For it will stay a Ship, that's mider Saile! 

See the Glossary, s. v. remora. This was a curoius supersti- 
tion. In Brand's Popular Antiquities (3. 381) he mentions 
that a writer in The Gentleman's Magazine for June, 1771, 
41 251, refuted the popular error that a remora has ' such 
power as to retard the sailing of a ship by sticking itself to 
its bottom.' Jonson alluded to this belief in The Poetaster 
{Wks. 2. 418) : 

Hor. Death, I am seized on here 
By a land remora ; I cannot stir. 
Nor move, but as he pleases. 

2. 2. 31. And stales are long, and tedious things to Maids! 
2. 2. 34. The stay is dangerous. These sound like varia- 
tions of proverbs : see Bohn's Poly glot : ' Delays are dangerous.' 
' L' indugiare e pericoloso ' ; and Hazlitt's Eng. Prov. : ' Delay 
hath oft wrought scathe.' 
2. 2. 32. And maidens are young ships, that would be 

sailing. 
When they be rigg'd: wherefore is all their trim else? 

The comparison of a woman to a ship is a common Elizabethan 
metaphor. Nares cites B. and Fl., Women Pleased 2. 6 : 

This pinck, this painted foist, this cockle-boat. 



ACT ii] Explanatory Notes 143 

The following examples are from Dekker : Match me in London 
{Wks. 4. 172) : 

There's a Pinnace 

(Was mann'd out first by th' City), is come to th' Court, 

New rigg'd. 

Also, Wks. 4. 162 ; 3. 67, 77, 78. Jonson uses the figure in 
various places. Cf. The Staple of News {Wks. 5. 210) : 

She is not rigg'd, sir ; setting forth some lady 
Will cost as much as furnishing a fleet. — 
Here she is come at last, and like a galley 
Gilt in the prow. 

The Devil is an Ass {Wks. 5. 28) ; 

Here my sail bears for you : 
Tack toward him, sweet pinnace. 

Idem. I will contrive it so, that you shall go 
To plays, to masques, to meetings, and to feasts : 
For, why is all this rigging and fine tackle, mistress. 
If your neat handsome vessels, of good sail. 
Put not forth ever and anon with your nets 
Abroad into the world ? 

W. S. Johnson considers this a borrowing from classical 
usage, and cites Mencechmi 2. 3. 442 (ed. The Devil is an Ass, 
p. 152) : 

Ducit lembum dierectum nauis praedatoria. 

Also Miles Gloriosus 4. i. 986 : ' Haec celox (a swift sailing 
vessel) illius est quae hie egreditur internuntia.' 

Part of the force of Jonson's expression as used here comes 
from the opportunity for punning offered by the double 
meaning of the adjectives : rigged has the colloquial meaning 
dressed, and, as applied to a ship, means fitted with necessary 
tackle. Trim has the meaning, fashionable dress, and, as 
applied to a ship, means the state of being fully prepared for 
sailing. 

2. 2. 40. they sometimes 

Are Sooth-sayers, and alwayes cumiing men. 



144 ^^^ Magnetic Lady [act ii 

Here are ambiguous terms : soothsayer may mean (i) a 
truthful person, (2) a diviner, a pretender to prophetic powers. 
Cunning may mean : (i) clever, practical, (2) learned, possessing 
skill or knowledge, (3) possessing magical skill or knowledge. 
Cf. Bartholomew Fair {Wks. 4. 358—9) : ' Sir, my mother has 
had her nativity-water cast lately by the cunning men in Cow- 
lane, and they have told her her fortune.' 

2. 2. 43. Hie neat house-Doctor: But a true stone-Doctor. 
The expression stone doctor I have not found anywhere else. 
The editors before Cunningham ignored this passage ; and 
he remarked that it was beyond his ingenuity. Can it be that 
Needle is making an insinuation against the doctor's character, 
so that, in case Placentia's pregnancy is discovered, suspicion 
will be directed away from himself and against the doctor ? 
' Stone horse ' is an obsolete or provincial term for stallion ; 
and in Bartholomew Fair {Wks. 4. 416), Knockum calls Busy 
a ' stone-Puritan.' A similar use of the term is found in Sir 
John Oldcastle 2.1: 

Wrotham Ah, sirra, dost thou not know, that a 
good fellow parson may haue a chappel of ease, where 
his parish Church is farre off? Harp. You whooreson 
ston'd Vicar ! 

The doctor's name is Rut, which is a term signifying the 
annually recurring sexual excitement of male deer ; and in 
Jonson's characterization of the doctor (i. 2. 38—45) he is 
called a ' profest voluptary.' Otherwise, the term may be 
an oblique allusion to the philosopher's stone. 
2. 2. 48. I am no Saint, 

Much lesse, my Lady, to be urged give health, 

Or sicknesse at my will. 
Many diseases have been named after saints that are suppo- 
sed to ward them off or relieve them : erysipelas is called St. 
Anthony's fire, or St. Francis' fire ; chorea, St. Vitus' dance. 
NED. refers to Dunglison's Diet. Med. Sci. and to Syd. Sac. 
Sex., for a long list of these diseases. In Brewer's Dictionary 
of Miracles, pp. 105—7, there are recounted instances of cures 
effected by Christian saints. Also in The Book of Days 2. 389 
the medicating saints are enumerated in a passage from a 



ACT li] Explanatory Notes 145 

whimsical satire of the sixteenth century. Below is a short 
selection from this passage : 

St. Apolin the rotten teeth doth help when sore they ache ; 
Otilia from the bleared eyes the cause and grief doth take ; 
Rooke healeth scabs and mangins, with pocks, and scurf, 

and scall, 
And cooleth raging carbuncles, and boils, and botches all. 
St. Valentine, beside, to such as do his power despise 
Thel falling-sickness sends, and helps the man that to him 

cries. 
The raging mind of furious folk doth Vitus pacify, 
And doth restore them to their wit, being called on speedily. 
Erasmus heals the colic and the griping of the guts, 
And Lawrence from the back and from the shoulder sickness 

puts. 

My Lady refers to the Virgin. 

2. 2. 50. but to awaite. Absolute infinitive : ' I am to 
(must) await.' 
2. 2. 50. but to awaite The starres good pleasure. The 

belief that the stars and planets exerted an influence upon 
human affairs was one of the prominent mediaeval and Eliza- 
bethan superstitions. Burton, in his Anat. of Mel. i. 456—7, 
admits that ' some men have peculiar symptoms, according 
to their temperament and crisis, which they had from the Stars 
and other Celestial influences ' ; and supports his statement 
by the authority of great scholars. Shakespeare satirized 
this belief in Lear 1. 2. 112—26, and Butler exposed the astro- 
loger, Sidrophel, in Hudihras, canto 3. 

2. 2. 57. Doctor Doo-all can doe it. Ballman suggests 
that in calling Rut Doctor Doo-all, Jonson has in mind 
Chaucer's Doctor [Prol. 419—422) : 

He knew the cause of everich maladye. 
Were it of hoot or cold, or moiste, or drye. 
And where engendred, and of what humour ; 
He was a verrey parfit practisour. 

This inference is favored by Jonson's allusion to Chaucer, 
Prol. 425 ff., which Ballman notes : 



146 The Magnetic Lady [act II 

Where there are means and doctors, learned men, 
And their Apothecaries, who are not new, 
(As Chaucer sayes) their friendship to begin. 

2. 3. I. The accent after a pause is frequently on the first 
syllable (Abbott, § 453) : 

Wence? what's | hee call'd? | Doctor, | doe all | you can, 

2. 3. 6. Tiffajay. Tiffany was a kind of thin, transparent 
silk. From uses cited in NED., it apparently symbolized 
sanctimony or sophistry: 1624 Bp. M. Smith Serm. (1632) 
132 : ' Put on the silke of honesty, the tiffiny (as it were) of 
sanctimony, and the purple of chastity ' ; 1650 B. Discolli- 
minium 36 : ' As a wel-wrought piece of tiffany or sophistry, 
but not as a sound Logicall or Theologicall Webbe.' The 
sanctimoniousness of Polish makes this an appropriate term. 

2. 3. 9. This may be scanned as follows : 

Leven'd ? | what's that ? | Puft, blowne, | and 't 
please | your wor ship. 

2. 3. 10. Darke, by darker? A Latinism : ' Obscumm per 
obscurius, (To explain) a thing that is obscure, by something 
still more so.' King, Classical and Foreign Quotations. 

2. 3. 10. For rule governing metre, see note on i. 3. 16. 

What ! Darke, | by dark | er ? What is | blowne ? 
puff'd, I speake Eng lish 
Or What! Darke, | by dark | er ? | What is | blowne? 
puff I 'd speak. 
2. 3. II. For rule governing metre, see note on 2. 3. i. 
English. I Tainted | and't please j you some | doe call it 

2. 3. 25. Laugh, and keepe company, at Gleeke, or Crimpe. 

For these obsolete games at cards, see the Glossary. 

2. 3. 27. peace Gossip Tittle-Tattle. Tittle means to tattle ; 
to talk idly ; to prate. — Wright, Eng. Dial. Diet. 

2. 3. 29. Some twenty mile. This use of mile instead of 
miles is still colloquial in some places. It has probably 



ACT II] Explanatory Notes 147 

survived through analogy with such Old English neuters of the 
strong form as were not distinguished in the nominative and 
accusative of the plural from the like cases of the singular : 
e. g., year, deer, sheep, &c. ; see Matzner's English Grammar 
I. 229. 

2. 3. 33. To chuck at. See Glossary, s. v. chuck. Nares 
says this was corrupted from chick, and was used as a fond- 
ling expression. Cf. Twelfth Night 3. 4 : 

Why how now, my bawcock ? how dost thou, chuck ? 
Mai. Sir ! 
Sir To. Ay, biddy, come with me. 

Shakespeare also used it in tragic style, Mach. 3. 2 : 

Be ignorant of the knowledge, dearest chuck, 
Till thou applaud the deed. 

Jonson used the term as a verb in The New Inn {Wks. 5. 316) : 

. . . and if I have got 
A seat to sit at ease here, in mine inn, 
To see the comedy ; and laugh, and chuck 
At the variety and throng of humours. 

2. 3. 38. For rule governing metre, see note on i. i. 28. 

Ready, | against | to mor | row morning. | Yes Mad am, 

2. 3. 41. For rule governing metre, see note on 2. 2. 5. 

Resolve | upon [ a man, | this day. | I ha' done't. 

2. 3. 47. the Hall. See Glossary. 

2. 3. 54. For rules governing metre, see notes on i. i. 81 ; 
I. 1.28. 

Like pet j ty Sove | raignes in | all cas | es. O, that 

2. 3- 57- a Lady 

0' the first head I'ld have her. 

See Glossary, s. v. head. The phrase means, ' one newly en- 
nobled or raised in rank.' NED. cites the following : Goldsm. 
Nat. Hist. 2. 5. (1862) L 329 : ' The buck is called ... the fifth 
year, a buck of the first head ' ; Holland, Plutarch's Mor. 439 : 
' Reproaching him . . . that he was a new upstart, and a gentle- 
man of the first head.' Cf. also Every Man Out {Wks. 2. 93) : 



148 The Magnetic Lady [ACT ll 

' If this city, ot the suburbs of the same, do afford any young 
gentleman, of the first, second, or third head, more or less, . . . 
that is affected to entertain the most gentlemanhke use of 
tobacco.' See also The Alchemist {Wks. 4. 28), The New Inn 
{Wks. 5. 378). These uses show that the phrase was properly 
applied to persons who showed pride in newly acquired dig- 
nities. 

2. 3. 61. her Gentleman-usher. ' Gentleman-Usher. Orig- 
inally a state-officer, attendant upon queens, and other 
persons of high rank, as, in Henry VIII, Griffith is gentleman- 
usher to Queen Catherine ; afterwards a private affectation 
of state, assumed by persons of distinction, or those who 
pretended to be so, and particularly ladies. He was then only 
a sort of upper servant, out of livery, whose office was to 
hand his lady to her coach, and to walk before her bare-headed, 
though in later times she leaned upon his arm.' — Nares, 
Glossary. 
2. 3. 62. And cast off Pages, bare, to bid her Aunt 
Welcome unto her honour, at her lodgings. 
' It was a piece of state, that the servants of the nobility, 
particularly the gentleman usher, should attend bare headed : 
for which hare was often used,' — Nares, Gloss. For passages 
illustrating the practice, see the quotations in Nares ; Ford, 
The Lover's Melancholy (PF^s.1.19); Chapman, The Gentleman 
Usher {Wks. i. 263). Jonson often refers to this practice: 
see The Devil is an Ass {Wks. 5. 55) ; The Staple of News 
{Wks. 5. 232) ; The New Inn {Wks. 5. 374) ; A Tale of a Tub 
{Wks. 6. 217, 222). 
2. 4. 2. and shalt command 

A thousand pound, to goe on any errand. 
For any Church preferment thou hast a mind too. 
For the corrupt state of many of the clergy, and the custom of 
securing preferment by giving bribes, see note on i. 2. 31. 
2. 4. 15. For rules governing metre, see notes on 1. 1. 28 ; 
1. 1. 81. 

And one | she wholly | imployes, | Now Dom | inus 

Prac ; tise 



ACT ll] Explanatory Notes 149 

2. 4. 16. For rule governing metre, see note on i. i. 81. 
NED. gives the 16 th century form, Laship. 

Is yet I the man | appoint | ed by | her Ladi ; ship 

2. 4. 21. ' Er final seems to have been sometimes pro- 
nounced with a kind of " burr," which produced the effect of 
an additional syllable.' — ^Abbott, § 478. 

Secur I e you | of Riv | alship. | I thanke ; thee 

2. 4. 35. hearken how the Chimes goe. Listen to find out 
how the various persons concerned will agree or harmonize. 
2. 5. 5. See note to i. 3. 16, and Abbott, § 454. 

And no | bly with | you. Madam. | Ha'you talk'd | with him ? 

2. 5. 7. For metre, see notes on i. i. 81 and 2. 4. 16. 

The bus j ines trust | ed to | me, by | your Ladi ! ship, 

2. 5. 27. But rather to require ingenious leave. The 

' maturity ' of Practice's acknowledgment is reflected in the 
choiceness of his language : see Glossary, s. v. require and 
ingenious. The line means, ' But rather to request as a 
favor frank permission.' 

2. 5, 39. For metre, see note on 1.3. 9. 

No, but I your Par j son sayes | he knowes, | Madam. 

2. 5. 44. ' Syllables ending in vowels are . . . frequently 
elided before vowels in reading, though not in writing.' — 
Abbott, §462. 

How! hee is | not mad. | hide | the hid | eous sec; ret. 

2. 5. 45. You doe hold A Cricket by the wing. ' You 
increase the clamour which you wish to silence.' — G. Cf. 
The Poetaster {Wks. 2. 515) : 

And, like so many screaming grasshoppers 
Held by the wings, fill every ear with noise. 

Also The Fox [Wks. 3. 233) : 

Volp. Ah me, I have ta'en a grass-hopper by the wing! 



150 The Magnetic Lady [ACT II 

2 . 5 . 48 . I find where your shoee wrings you, Mr. Compasse. 

This is an allusion to the proverb : ' I know best where the 
shoe wringeth me (Hazlitt, Eng. Prov.) ; ' But I wot best wher 
wryngith me my sho' (Chaucer, Merchant's Tale 309). 

2.5.58. He must not alter Nature for forme. He must not 
alter the grasping, selfish nature he has developed as a lawyer, 
in order to conform to the mode of behavior and manners 
which satisfies the ideals of society. 

2. 5. 66. Something in hand is better, than no birds. Haz- 
Htt gives : 'A bird in the hand is worth two in the wood ' = 
' Something is better than nothing.' Bohn, Polyglot : ' A 
bird in the cage is worth a hundred at large.' 

2. 5. 67. For metre, see note on 2. 5. 44. 

He shall | at last | accompt, | for the ut | most farth ing, 

2. 5. 74. I cannot tell. See note on 2. i. 18. 
2. 5. 75. For metre, see note on 2. 4. 16. 

I must I attend | my Gos | sip, her | good Ladi ship. 

2. 6. 8. those should pay 

Me for my watch, and breaking of my sleepes. 

Watch now means a keeping awake for the purpose of guarding : 
its obsolete sense is wakefulness, the state of being awake. The 
term as used here seems to partake of both these meanings. 
Cf. The New Inn {Wks. 5. 324) : 

Lov. I was the laziest creature, 
The most unprofitable sign of nothing. 
The veriest drone, and slept away my life 
Beyond the dormouse, till I was in love ! 
And now, I can outwake the nightingale. 
Out-watch an usurer, and out-walk him too ; 

2. 6. 13. For metre, see note on i. 3. 41. 
It would I reward | your wak | ing. That's | my indus try ; 

2. 6. 19. rib of mans flesh. Alluding to Gen. 2. 21. 

2. 6. 23. in open sale market. This was amended by 
Whalley to sale in open market : this latter is a common ex- 
pression ; see NED. ; ' Market overt (in Law) : open market ; 



ACT li] Explanatory Notes 151 

the exposal of vendible goods in an open place so that any one 
who passes by may see them.' Cf. Every Man Out {Wks. 

1. 136) : 

Down. Why how now, signior gull ! are you turn'd 
filcher of late ? Come, deliver my cloak. 

Step. Your cloak, sir ! I bought it even now, in open 
market. 

2. 6. 34. After the usual rate of ten i' the hundred. During 
the reign of Elizabeth, the legal rate of interest was 10 per cent. 
In 1624 the rate was reduced to 8 per cent, which was, then, 
the legal rate when this play was written ; but fourteen years 
before, when Sir Moth took charge of the money, the rate was 
10 per cent. See Palgrave, Diet. Pol. Econ. 2. 429—36. 

2. 6. 37. Let'hem exclaime, and envie: what care I? The 
speech of Sir Moth recalls a similar speech of the avaricious 
Sordido in Every Man Out {Wks. 2. 43) : 

Hind. They will exclaim against you. 
Sord. Ay, their exclaims 

Move me as much, as thy breath moves a mountain. 

2. 6. 45. For metre, see note on i. 3. 41. 

To an I y reas | onable | mans un | derstand ' ing. 

2. 6. 54. a roveting man, . . . aimes at infinite wealth. The 

idea of avarice as a master-passion on a grand scale was 
worked out in Marlowe's The Jew of Malta. 
2. 6. 58. this present world being nothing. 

But the dispersed issue of first one. 

This sounds like the more recent nebular hypothesis. The 
Copernican system in Jonson's time was fast supplanting the 
older Ptolemaic system in the view of intelligent people. 
Jonson himself was a contemporary of Kepler, Galileo, and 
Descartes ; and one may infer that he accepted the new views. 
For a cosmology which represents the planets as the dispersed 
issue of original matter, see the exposition of the doctrine of 
Descartes in Arrhenius, The Life of the Universe i. 103—8. 
2. 6. 60. I not see. See note on 2. 1. 13. 



152 The Magnetic Lady [ACT II 

2. 6. 66. the Prince hath need 

More of one wealthy, then ten fighting men. 

The force of this statement is evident on consideration of 
the difficulties which James and Charles encountered in their 
efforts to secure means to finance their continental wars. 
Charles' demand for unlimited supplies was one of the causes 
of the conflict between the Crown and the House of Commons. 
See Gardiner's History of England, Vol. 5. 

2. 6. 47. Being may be pronounced as a monosyUable 
(Abbott, §470). See also note on i. 3. 41. Of the two extra 
syllables, the last is slurred (see Abbott, § 494). 

Fro' the pen | ny to | the twelve | pence, being | the 
Hiero ; glyphick. 
Or the verse might be scanned thus : 

Fro' the penny | to the twelve | pence, being | the 

Hiero '■ glyphick, 

2. 6. 77. wealth . . . displaeeth worth. This was one of 
the complaints of Burton {Anat. of Mel. i. 372) : ' Many 
mortal men came to see fair Psyche, the glory of her age ; they 
did admire her, commend, desire her for her divine beauty, 
and gaze upon her, but as on a picture ; none would marry her, 
quod indotata ; fair Psyche had no money. So they do by 
learning : . . . "a proper man, and ' tis a pity he has no pre- 
ferment," all good wishes, but inexorable, indurate as he is, 
he will not prefer him, though it be in his power, because he is 
indotatus, he hath no money.' So, in the speech of Macilente 
in Every Man Out {Wks. 2. 42) : 

Peace, fool get hence, and tell thy vexed spirit. 
Wealth in this age wUl scarcely look on merit. 

Also Underwoods {Wks. 8. 412) : 

I may no longer on these pictures stay. 
These carcases of honour ; tailors' blocks 
Cover'd with tissue, whose prosperity mocks 
The fate of things ; whilst tatter'd virtue holds 
Her broken arms up to their empty moulds ! 



ACT ll] Explanatory Notes 153 

For a spirited eulogy of wealth, dramatic of course, see The 
Fox {Wks. 3. 167) : 

Thou art virtue, fame. 
Honour and all things else. Who can get thee, 
He shall be noble, valiant, honest, wise — 

Mos. And what you will, sir. Riches are in fortime 
A greater good than wisdom is in nature. 

2. 6. 80. It makes a trade to take the wall of vertue. ' To 

take the wall of, the right or privilege of passing next the wall 
when encountering another person or persons on the street : 
a right valued in old-fashioned streets with narrow sidewalks, 
or no footpath, as giving a safer or more cleanly passage.' 
— CD. See Massinger, The Maid of Honour {Wks. 3. 10) : 

I remember you, 
When you came first to the court, and talk'd of nothing 
But your rents and your entradas, ever chiming 
The golden bells in your pockets ; you believed 
The taking of the wall as a tribute due to 
Your gaudy clothes. 

2. 6. 88. For metre, see note on i. 2. 47. 

Whether | he have j any | compass | ion, 

2. 6. 100. His wit hee cannot so dispose, by Legacie. Cf. 

Scitum Hispanicum : Explorata {Wks. 9. 141) : ' It is a quick 
saying with the Spaniards, Artes inter hceredes non dividi.' 
2. 6. 109. For metre, see note on i. 2. 9. 

That here | are met. | Is't a | ny thing | to you • brother, 

2. 6. 122—8. A man . . . time. Ward discusses the class of 
' state decipherers ' in the Cambridge History of English Literat- 
wr^, Vol. 5, chap. 14 : ' As in the days of the early Roman empire, 
a class of informers rose into being, called, in Elizabethan 
parlance, "moralizers" or " state decipherers," whose business 
it was to discover and denounce passages, situations and even 
single words which seemed to betray a dangerous meaning. 
The spirit of Jacobean government did not fail to carry further 
a system congenial to its mode of working. Such, in this 
age, were a few of the troubles of authors — troubles in which 
dramatists had more than their share.' 



154 ^^^ Magnetic Lady [act II 

2. 6. 132. Cutting 0! throats, with a whispering, or a pen- 
knife. Gifford gives the reference to Juvenal : 

. . . saevior jllo 
Pompeius tenui jugulos aperire susurro. 

— Sat. 4. log— 10. 

2. 6. 144. Pragmatick Flies. Parasites who are officiously- 
busy in other people's affairs. For the use of fly to denote 
a parasite, Nares cites Massinger, Virg. Mart. 2. 2 : 

Courtiers have flies 
That buzz all news unto them. 

Also, the name of the parasite in The Fox, Mosca, is the 
Italian word for fly. In a note to 2. 6. 73 of his edition of 
The New Inn, Tennant observes that the application of the 
characteristics of a fly to inquisitive, prying persons is to be 
found in Plautus {Merc. 2. 3. 26) : ' muscast meus pater, nil 
potest clam ilium haberi, nee sacrum nee tam profanum quic- 
quam est, quin ibi ilico adsit.' 

See also The Magnetic Lady 5. 7. i : 

' Tis such a Fly, this Gossip, with her buz, 
Shee blowes on every thing, in every place ! 

2. 6. 158. covey. The term covey was first applied to 
a brood or hatch of partridges, and then figurative and by 
transference to a family, party of, or set of persons. — ^A passage 
in The Staple of News {Wks. 5. 289) shows the connection 
between these meanings : 

Fit. He is a flame. 
Shun. A furnace. 
Aim. A consumption, 

Kills where he goes. 
[Cym. Fit. Mad. Aim. and Shun, run off.) 
Lick. See ! the whole covey is scatter'd ; 

' Ware, 'ware the hawks ! I love to see them fly. 

2. 7. 9. and not acquaint. See note on 2. 1. 13. 

2. Ch. 4. or what eminent Lawyer, by the ridiculous Mr. 
Practise? who hath rather his name invented for laughter, 
then any ofence, or injury it can stick on the reverend 
Professors of the Law. 



ACT ii] Explanatory Notes 155 

This passage seems to be something of an evasion by Jonson, 
to avoid the unpleasant consequences of what he is doing. He 
is, indeed, satirizing a type, not individuals ; but his purpose 
is evidently a moral one, and not merely to produce laughter. 
The corrupt and grasping lawyer was one of his favorite sub- 
jects of satire : see Voltore, in The Fox ; Sir Paul Eitherside, in 
The Devil is an Ass ; and Picklock, in The Staple of News. 
For this practice Jonson was attacked in Satiromasiix, p. 244 : 

Tuc. He tell thee why, because th' ast entred Actions 
of assault and battery, against a companie of honurable 
and worshipfull Fathers of the law : you wrangling 
rascell, law is one of the pillers ath land. 

For passages where Jonson made sweeping and general 
charges against lawyers, see The Poetatser {Wks. 2. 382) ; 
The Fox {Wks. 3. 181) ; and The Magnetic Lady 2. 5. 55—9. 
Jonson's defense was that he was satirizing the corrupt, not 
the worthy, members of the profession : see Every Man Out 
{Wks. 2. 85—6) ; The Poetaster {Wks. 2. 514) ; and Undenvoods 
(PF^s. 8. 382-3). 

2. Ch. 8. Iniquity itself e would not have urg'd it. Iniquity 
was one name of the Vice, or established buffoon in the 
morality plays. The term came later to be applied to any 
particular vice or sin personified. For further information 
and quotations, see Nares. 

2. Ch. 9. It is picking the Lock of the Scene. Cf. Bartholo- 
mew Fair, Induction {Wks. 4. 351) : ' In consideration of which, 
it is finally agreed, by the aforesaid hearers and spectators. 
That they neither in themselves conceal, nor suffer by them 
to be concealed, any state-decypherer, or politic picklock of 
the scene, so solemnly ridiculous, as to search out, who was 
meant by the gingerbread -woman, who by the hobby-horse 
man, who by the costard-monger, nay, who by their wares.' 

2. Ch. 10. A Play, though it apparell, and present vices in 
generally flies from all particularities in persons. This is one 
of Jonson's oft reiterated principles. Cf. The Poetaster 
{Wks. 2. 514) : 

My books have still been taught 
To spare the persons, and to speak the vices ; 



156 The Magnetic Lady [act 11 

Idem. (510) : . . . sharp, yet modest rhimes, 

That spare men's persons, and but tax their crimes ; 

Bartholomew Fair, Induction; Epigrams {Wks. 8. 160) : 
Guilty, be wise ; and though thou know'st the crimes 
Be thine, I tax, yet do not own my rhymes : 
' Twere madness in thee, to betray thy fame. 
And person to the world, ere I thy name. 

This is one of the tenets of classical criticism : Cf . Horace, Sat. 

2.1.83: 

Esto, si quis mala ; sed bona si quis 
ludice condiderit laudatus Caesare ? Si quis 
Opprobriis dignum latraverit, integer ipse ? 

Martial 10. 33. 10 : 

Hunc servare modum nostri novere libelh; 
Parcere personis, dicere de vitiis. 

Such is Jonson's theory of the general nature of dramatic 
character-portrayal, but he did not himself always conform 
to it. He fell into personal invective in Cynthia's Revels and 
The Poetaster, and probably in some parts of many other of his 
plays. He, however, defended himself from the charge, 
and recognized it as a fault. For a discussion of this point, 
see Woodbridge's Studies in Jonson's Comedy, pp. 33—4. 

2. Ch, 13. Davus. A name given to a servant in Terence's 
Andria and Phormio. ' A conventional name for a slave in 
Latin comedies.' — CD. 

2. Ch. 13. Pseudolus. A servant and the principal char- 
acter in Plautus' play, Pseudolus. 

2. Ch. 14. Pyrgopolinices. The braggart captain in 
Plautus' Miles Gloriosus. 

2. Ch. 14. Thraso. A soldier in Terence's Eunuchus. 

2, Ch. 14. Euclio. The miser in Plautus' Auluiaria. 

2. Ch. 14. Menedemus. An old man in Terence's Heauton- 
timorumenos. 

2. Ch. 16. Titius, or Seius. For the following note I am 
indebted to Professor C. P. Sherman of the Yale Law School : 
' Titius and Seius are stock expressions in Roman law, corres- 
ponding to the John Doe and Richard Roe of English law. 



ACT ii] Explanatory Notes 157 

They have no technical significance, being simply imaginary 
persons used to illustrate a legal rule or doctrine.' 

2. Ch. 23. But if you will utter your owne ill meaning on 
that person, under the Authors words, you make a Libell of 
his Comoedy. 

Dam. 0, hee told us that in a Prologue, long since. 
The Silent Woman {Wks. 3. 332) : 

If any yet will, with particular sleight 
Of application, wrest what he doth write ; 
And that he meant, or him, or her, will say : 
They make a libel, which he made a play. 

2. Ch. 30. It is the solemne vice of interpretation. 

2. Ch. 39. It is an unjust way of hearing, and beholding 
Playes, this, and most unbecomming a Gentleman to appeare 
malignantly witty in anothers Worke. Cf . The Staple of News 
{Wks. 5. 217) : 

Cen. Ay, therein they abuse an honourable princess, 
it is thought. 

Mirth. By whom is it thought ? ... Take heed 
it lie not in the vice of your interpretation. 

The Poetaster {Wks. 2. 485) : 

'Tis not the wholesome sharp morality. 

Or modest anger of a satiric spirit, 

That hurts or wounds the body of the state ; 

But the sinister application 

Of the malicious, ignorant, and base 

Interpreter ; who will distort, and strain 

The general scope and purpose of an author 

To his particular and private spleen. 

Cas. We know it, our dear Virgil, and esteem it 
A most dishonest practice in that man. 
Will seem too witty in another's work. 

2. Ch. 33. the Glasse of custome ... is so held up to me, 
by the Poet, as I can therein view the daily examples of mens 
lives, and images of Truth, in their manners. For a similar 
theory of the function of the drama, see Hamlet 3. 2. 27 : 'for 

L2 



158 The Magnetic Lady [ACT II 

any thing so overdone is from the purpose of playing, whose 
end, both at first and now, was and is, to hold, as ' twere, the 
mirror up to nature ; to show virtue her own feature, scorn her 
own mage, and the very age and body of the time his form and 
pressure.' Cf. Sidney, Def. Poesy, ed. Cook, note on 28. 24. 
2. Ch. 36. drawne for my delight, or profit. This is an- 
other classical canon of criticism which Jonson emphasizes : 
Cf. Every Man Out {Wks. 2. 20) : 

Asp. Why, therein I commend your careful thoughts. 
And I will mix with you in industry 
To please : but whom ? attentive auditors. 
Such as will join their profit with their pleasure. 

The Fox [Wks. 3. 163-4) '■ 

This we were bid to credit from our poet, 
Whose true scope, if you would know it. 
In all his poems still hath been this measure. 
To mix profit with your pleasure. 

The Silent Woman {Wks. 3. 332) : 

The ends of all, who for the scene do write, 
Are, or should be, to profit and delight. 

The Alchemist {yVks. 4. 10) : 

Though this pen 
Did never aim to grieve, but better men : 
Howe'er the age he lives in doth endure 
The vices that she breeds, above their cure. 
But when the wholesome remedies are sweet. 
And in their working gain and profit meet. 
He hopes to find no spirit so much diseased. 
But will with such fair correctives be pleased. 

The Staple of News {Wks. 5. 291) : 

Thus have you seen the maker's double scope. 
To profit and dehght. 

Horace, De Arte Poetica 326—7 : 

Aut prodesse volunt, aut delectare poetae, 
Aut simul et jucunda, et idonea dicere vitae. 



ACT ll] Explanatory Notes 159 

Jonson's translation {Wks. 9. 105) : 

Poets would either profit or delight ; 

Or mixing sweet and fit, teach life the right. 

De Arte Poetica 343—4 : 

Omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulci, 
Lectorem delectando, pariterque monendo. 

Jonson's translation {Wks. 9. 107) : 

But he hath every suffrage, can apply 
Sweet mixt with sour to his reader, so 
As doctrine and delight together go. 

2. Ch. 45. no Barbers art, or his bals. Soap at this time 
was molded into this shape ; see The Gipsies Metamorphosed 
{Wks. 7. 406) : 

An ointment . . . yet without spells, 
By a mere barber, and no magic else. 
It was fetch'd off with water and a ball. 

Marston, The Dutch Courtezan 3. 3 : 'A ball to scour — a 

scouring ball a ball to be shaved ! ' Dekker, The Seven 

Deadly Sinnes {Wks. i. 62) : ' O you that bandie away none 
but sweete washing Balles, and cast none other then Rose- 
waters for any mans pleasure.' 

2. Ch. 53. my eighteene pence, or two shillings for my Seat. 
This gives some idea of the prices of seats in Jonson's time ; 
but a more complete enumeration of prices is found in the 
induction to Bartholomew Fair {Wks. 4. 347) : ' It shall be 
lawful for any man to judge his sixpen' worth, his twelve-pen' 
worth, so to his eighteenpence, two shillings, half a crown, 
to the value of his place.' Traill {Social England 3. 569) says : 
' In Elizabeth's reign prices varied from a penny to a shilling ; 
in the next reign they rose. Two penny rooms or boxes and the 
twopenny gallery are often mentioned, but sixpence seems to 
have been the most usual fee. The St. Paul's private theatre 
had no seats at less than fourpence, and its audience was more 
select.' In Rye's England, as seen by Foreigners in the 
Days of Elizabeth and James the First, p. 88, Samuel Kiechel 



i6o The Magnetic Lady [act ii 

observed, 1585 : ' It may indeed happen . . . that the players 
take from fifty to sixty dollars [£'io to £12] at a time, 
particularly if they act anything new, when people have 
to pay double. And . . . they perform nearly every day 
in the week ; notwithstanding plays are forbidden on Friday 
and Saturday, this prohibition is not observed.' 

2. Ch. 57. And teach others (about you) to doe the like, that 
follow your leading face. Cf . Bartholomew Fair {Wks. 4. 347) : 
' It is also agreed, that every man here exercise his own 
judgment, and not censure by contagion, or upon trust, from 
another's voice or face, that sits by him, be he never so first 
in the commission of wit.' See also Every Man Out {Wks. 
2. 19) ; The Staple of News {Wks. 5. 257) ; and The Case is 
Altered {Wks. 6. 339—40). 

2. Ch. 63. the Beares. ' Bear-baiting was, it is said, intro- 
duced into England in the reign of King John by a band of 
Italians. ... It was in great vogue under the Tudors. Bear- 
wards, in the days of Elizabeth, were the appanages of great 
nobles, and the bears themselves were public characters. 
. . . The Queen herself was a great connoisseur in the sport ; 
so much so, that she deprecated the competition of the play- 
houses, and issued orders from the Privy Council forbidding 
the acting of plays on Thursdays, the chosen day for the bear- 
baitings at Bankside. . . . These were the palmy days of 
the sport ; under the Stuarts it suffered a distinct loss of caste, 
and by the time Anne came to the throne both bear and bull 
baiting had declined into low forms of entertainment, much 
loved by butchers and draymen, but still patronized more 
or less furtively at Hockley by persons of high station. . . . 
Bull and bear baiting had a legal status until 1835, when a 
career of the sport during nearly seven centuries of English 
life was closed by an Act of Parliament,' — Boulton, The 
Amusements of Old London i. 5, 33. 

For further information, see Boulton i. 5—34 ; Strutt, Sports 
and Pastimes, pp. 257—8 ; Wheatley and Cunningham, London 
Past and Present 1. 137—9. 

2. Ch. 63. the Puppets. The puppet-shows, or ' motions,' 
existed as far back as 15 17, for they were mentioned in 



ACT III] Explanatory Notes i6i 

Gammer Gurton's Needle. They usually made their appearance 
at great fairs ; a characteristic ' motion ' in its coarseness of 
speech and acting, its horse-play and beating, is found in Jon- 
son's Bartholomew Fair ; see Introduction to Alden's ed., pp. 
XVI— XVIII, for analysis of this, and discussion of parallels. 
For further information, see Boulton, The Amusements of Old 
London 2. 224—7 >" Strutt, Sports and Pastimes 165—8 ; and 
Charles Magnin, Histoire des Marionnettes en Europe. Con- 
sidering Jonson's high and uncompromising ideals of art, 
one can understand his repugnance to bear-baiting and the 
puppet-shows. 

3. 1. I. The accent may be on the second syllable of Mister 
(see Abbott, § 490). 

Here's Mis | ter Doc | tor ? O | Mister [ Tim It ; em. 

3. 1. 3. Death! This is an imprecation. The original 
expression was God's death, which became abbreviated to 
' Sdeath, later to death. 

3. 1. II. ftimish forth the Table with your newes. It must 
have been something of a custom for hungry adventurers to 
earn a meal by relating sensational news, for Jonson satirized 
the practice elsewhere : see To Captain Hungry, Epigrams 
{Wks. 8. 209) ; and Underwoods LXV {Wks. 8. 417). 

3. I. 14. But they are piec'd. For another example of 
piece, to re-unite a broken friendship, see The Devil is an Ass 
{Wks. 5. 96) : ' Now, I protest ; and I will have all pieced, and 
friends again.' 

3. 1. 18. Hee hath begun three draughts of sack in Doc- 
* trines. 
And fower in Uses. 

' Needle adopts the language of the puritans in this place. 
In preaching, they divided their discourses into doctrine and 
use, meaning by the former the subject under explanation, 
and by the latter the practical inference to be derived from it. 
Hudibras has the words frequently in his mouth : 

Thou canst, in conscience, not refuse, 
From thy own doctrine to raise use. 



l62 The Magnetic Lady [ACT III 

Again : 

... in a town 
There lived a cobler, and but one, 
Who out of doctrine could cut use, 
And mend men's lives as well as shoes.' — G. 

3. I. 23. a moneths mind. This expression has two widely 
different meanings, i. ' Eccl. In England before the Refor- 
mation, and still in Ireland among Roman Catholics : The 
commemoration of a deceased person by the celebration of 
masses, etc., on a day one month from the date of his death.' 
2. An inchnation, a fancy, a liking. To he in a month's 
mind, ' to have a strong expectation.' NED. 

Nares gives as the more common use, an eager desire or 
longing, and refers in explanation to the conjecture of John 
Croft, who published a few detached remarks upon Shake- 
speare. 'He explains it to allude to " a woman's longing; 
which " he says " usually takes place (or commences, at least) 
in the first month of pregnancy." Rem., p. 2. Unfortu- 
nately he gives no authority for it, and I have endeavored in 
vain to find it, in that mode of application. Yet it accords 
so perfectly with this second sense, that I have no doubt of 
its being the true explanation. It is in this latter sense 
it is used by Shakespeare in the Two Gentlemen of Verona : 

I see you have a month's mind to them. Act i, sc. 2. 
... So also in Hall : 

And sets a month's mind upon smiling May. Satires, B. IV, 
s. 4. Fuller also has it : 

The king (Henry VII) had more than a moneth's mind, 
(keeping 7 yeares in that humour) to procure the pope 
to canonize Henry VI for a saint. Church Hist., B. 
IV, 23. 

And Hudibras : 

For if a trumpet soimd, or drum beat. 

Who hath not a month's mind to combat. P. i. Cant, ii. 

Now what possible connection can any of these have with 
the celebration of the dead ? To give a ludicrous sense to a 
combination common on more solemn occasions, might have 
been one inducement to adopt the latter phrase ; but it must 



ACT III] Explanatory Notes 163 

have been founded on something, that made it proper in the 
lighter sense, and something also that authorized the speaker 
to say you have such a mind. And what more probable 
origin can be imagined, than the longing of a woman in the 
first month of pregnancy, a subject of such common remark ? 
" You long for it like a woman with child." ' — Nares, Glos. 

3. 2. 4. Couit-Sir Amber-gris. Ambergris was used in 
perfumery and in cookery ; it was also believed to be an 
aphrodisiac. Stubbes {Anat. Abus., pp. 77—8) inveighs 
agamst the use of costly perfumes and musk ; but the custom 
is easily understood, when one considers the unsanitary con- 
dition of houses at that time. For the use of ambergris in 
wines, see Beaumont and Fletcher, The Custom of the Country 
3.2: 

'Tis well, be sure, 

The wines are lusty, high and full of spirit, and ambered all. 

3. 2. II. Rather as ballance, then the sword of Justice. 

Justice was often personified, and represented in art as a 
goddess holding balanced scales or a sword ; cf . Shakespeare, 
2 Hen. VI 5. 2. 102 : 

You are right Justice, and you weigh this well : 
Therefore still beare the Ballance, and the Sword. — NED. 

3.2.26. Rudhudibras de Ironside ? Jonson used this name 
in The New Inn {Wks. 5. 338—9) : 

He has the father of swords within, a long sword ; 
Blade Cornish styled of sir Rud Hughdebras. 

" Rud Hughdebras was, as Milton tells us, the son of Leil, who 
built Caerliel, and I know not how many more cities. He 
seems to have been a peaceful monarch, so that his blade 
Cornish was not, perhaps, much the worse for use." — G. 
Milton wrote : " Rudhuddibras, or Hudibras appeasing the 
commotions which his father could not, founded Caerkeynt 
or Canterbury, Caerguent, or Winchester, and Mount Paladur, 
now Septonia or Shaftsbury; but this by others is contra- 
dicted." Hist. oi Britain, 1677, p. 23. 'Milton's authority 

is Geoffrey of Monmouth, Bk. 2, chap. 9. The statement 
is of course mythical.' Tennant. The name, Hudibras, is 



164 The Magnetic Lady [act hi 

found also in the Faerie Queene, Bk. 2, canto 2, and was 
immortalized later by Butler. 

3. 2. 26. For metre, see note on 2. 5. 44. 

Rudhud I ibras | de Ironside ? | Gone out | of doores. 

3. 2. 33. his conjuring names, Hippocrates; Galen or Rasis, 
Avicen. Averroes. Hippocrates Greek philosopher and 
writer, termed the ' Father of Medicine,' was born, according 
to Soranus, in Cos, in the first year of the 8oth Olympiad, 
i. e., 460 B.C. He was believed to be descended from Aescu- 
lapius. He was the first to cast superstition aside, and to base 
the practice of medicine on the principles of inductive philo- 
sophy. He is said to have exerted great influence over the 
Athenian thinkers. His name is especially famous in mediae- 
val stories. In modern times his works on medicine have 
been highly valued. 

Galen (or Galenus) Claudius, the most celebrated of ancient 
medical writers, was born at Pergamus, in Mysia, about 
A.D. 130. He spent a considerable part of his life at Rome. 
He is said to have written nearly hundred treatises on various 
subjects, including logic, ethics, and grammar. He was 
regarded as an oracle by the Arabs and Europeans until the 
fifteenth century. 

Rasis, or Rhasis, Latin forms of the surname Razee, a 
celebrated Arabian physician. He was born about the middle 
of the ninth century. He wrote treatises on smallpox and 
the measles. He is said to have been the first who described 
the smallpox accurately. 

'Avicenna, the Latin form of Ibn-Sina, the most illus- 
trious of Arabian physicians, was born at Afshena, a 
village in Bokhara, 980 a.d. ... No man, except Aristotle 
and Galen, exercised so absolute an authority in science 
during the middle ages, as Avicenna. For five centuries his 
" Canon " was regarded as the authority in the schools of 
Erope.' 

Averroes, ' the common form of the name Ibn-Roshd, 
one of the most famous of all the Arabian philosophers and 
physicians, was born at Cordova, in Spain, probably in the 



ACT III] Explanatory Notes 165 

first quarter of the twelfth century. . . . His celebrity as a 
writer rests chiefly on his Commentary on Aristotle. . . . He 
wrote on medicine, theology, law, logic, etc. ... In the 
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the disciples of Aristotle in 
Italy were divided into two sects, the Averroists and the 
Alexandrists.' Lippincott's Pron. Biog. Diet., Encycl. Brit, and 
Diet. Gr. and Rom. Biog. and Myth. 

Burton is constantly quoting these men as authorities in 
The Anatomy of Melaneholy. Chaucer's doctor, who prob- 
ably influenced Jonson's characterization of Rut, also knew 
them well ; cf . Prologue 429—434 ; 

Wei knew he the olde Esculapius, 
And Deiscorides, and eek Rufus, 
Old Ypocras, Haly, and Galien, 
Serapion, Razis, and Avicen ; 
Averrois, Damascien, and Constanryn ; 
Bernard, and Gatesden, and Gilbertyn. 

The fact that Compass refers to Rut's using these as con- 
juring names is, of course, a thrust at the doctor, as the 
ignorant practitioner would use the names of authorities 
without understanding their doctrines ; see the character of 
A Mere Dull Physician in Morley's Character Writing, p. 162. 
For the relation of medicine to alchemy, astrology, magic, etc., 
see Hathaway's edition of The Alchemist, Introduction, p. 49. 
3.2.36. a poore Farthing chang'd in Rosa solis. A farthing's 
worth of the cordial called rosa-solis. For the use of in for 
into, see Abbott, Shakespearian Grammar, § 159. For rosa- 
solis as a cure for swooning, see Every Man Out {Wks. 
2. 156) : 

Fung. Another suit ! {Swoons. 

Sog. How now, nephew? 

Fast. Would you speak with me, sir ? 

Car. Ay, when he has recovered himself, poor Poll ! 

Punt. Some rosa-solis. 

3. 3. 8. sattin Doublet: . . . silke Stockings. See the 

characterization of Silkworm, i. 6. 4—9. 

' This passion for silk stockings is glanced at by other 
dramatic writers. So, in the Miseries of In forced Marriage : 



i66 The Magnetic Lady [ACT ill 

" This town craves maintenance, silk stockings must be had." 
And, in The Hog hath lost his Pearl, 1614 : " Good parts 
without habihments of gallantry, are no more set by in these 
times, than a good leg in a woolen stocking." ' — ^W. 

' Bobadill, who is the mirror of fashion in this ^Idiy [Every 
Man In], is furnished with silk stockings ; and it is not one of 
the least evils, with which the humorous malice of the poet has 
pursued his disgrace, to make him pawn this favourite article 
of gallantry, to procure a warrant for binding over the tur- 
bulent Downright to keep the peace.' — G. 

3. 3. 21. reputation. Amended to reparation ; see variant. 

3. 3. 26. A pure Apprentice at Law! ' An ancient term for 
a barrister at law, as distinguished from a serjeant.' — G. 

3- 3- 33- a Court ... 0' the Starre-Chamber. ' The name 
given in the 15th, i6th, and 17th centuries to an English high 
court of justice, consisting of the members of the ordinary 
council, or of the privy council only, with the addition of 
certain judges, and exercising jurisdiction, mainly criminal, 
in certain cases. ... In practice its jurisdiction was almost 
unlimited. I took notice of maintenance and liveries, bribery 
or partiality of jurors, falsification of panels or of verdicts, 
routs and riots, murder, felony, forgery, perjury, fraud, libel 
and slander, offences against proclamations, duels, acts ten- 
ding to treason, as well as of a few civil matters, — disputes 
as to land between English and foreign merchants, testa- 
mentary cases, etc., — in fact " all offences may be here exam- 
ined and punished if the king will." It was abolished by the 
Long Parliament in 1641, and never afterward revived.' — 
Hudson, Treatise of the Court of Star-Chamber {Collectanea 
Juridicia, Vol. 2). 

3. 3. 37. but like a wild 

Young haggard Justice, fly at breach 0' the Peace. 

More of the language of hawking. ' A haggard was a 
falcon that had preyed for herself before she was caught, and 
therefore more difficult to train than one take from the 
nest.'— C. 



ACT III] Explanatory Notes 167 

3. 3. 43. 'In some words the accent is nearer the end than 
with us ' (Abbott, § 490). 

That rea | sona | ble, so | we may | meet faire, 

3. 3. 44—84 and 87—95. These monologues are of the kind 
that characterize the persons addressed rather than the 
speaker. The specious but illogical arguments of Compass, 
which are so admired by Silkworm and Practice, reveal in a 
striking way their dulness and formality. The satire in 
Compass's speeches is, of course, directed against a certain 
condition brought about by the vogue of dueling. ' A law 
of honour having annexed the imputation of cowardice to 
patience under an affront, challenges are given and accepted, 
with no other design than to prevent and wipe off this sus- 
picion, without malice against the adversary — without a 
wish to destroy him ; and, generally, with no other concern 
than to preserve the duellists' own reputation and reception 
in the world.' — Steinmetz, The Romance of Duelling i. 12. 

The humor of the situation, aside from Compass' speeches, 
consists in the conflict between the cowardice of Silkworm and 
his desire to conform to the code of honor. For well-known 
parallels, see the clown's account of his quarrel in As You Like 
It 5. 4. 51—104, and the annotation in the Furness Variorum ; 
also the dueling scenes in Sheridan's The Rivals (1775). 
Many of the plays of Beaumont and Fletcher utihze dramatic 
material afforded by the code of honor, and this code motivates 
the action to a large extent in the heroic plays of Davenant 
and Dryden. Of The Little French Lawyer (c. 1616) Ward 
writes : ' The humour of the play lies in its satirical reference 
to the mania for quarrels of honour which had risen to its 
height — or perhaps . . . had just passed it — in the age in which 
the comedy appeared.' For other parallels in Jonson's 
works, see the scenes in which Master Stephen and Bobadill 
appear in Every Man In ; Shift, in Every Man Out ; Tucca, in 
The Poetaster ; Sir John Daw and Sir Amorous La-Foole, 
in The Silent Woman ; and Sir Glorious Tipto, in The New Inn. 
For a discussion of Jonson's satire of the elaborate rules of 
fencing and dueling in Cynthia's Revels, see Judson's edition. 



i68 The Magnetic Lady [act hi 

pp. 209—11. For a satisfactory discussion of the duello in 
general, see W. S. Johnson's edition of The Devil is an Ass, 
Introduction, pp. liv— Ixiii. 

3. 3. 54. Boy 0' the Sword. According the NED., boy was 
used in various connections, indicating a member of a fra- 
ternity or band ; Roaring Boys were riotous fellows of the time 
of Elizabeth and James I. 

3. 3. 57. The first foot is monosyllabic. 

As I they are | by pres | ent de | posi : tion 

3. 3. 61 . a Beaver. Beaver hats were very costly and were 
worn by women as well as men ; cf. The Magnetic Lady 5. 2. 18: 

You shall have a new, brave, foure-pound Beaver hat, 
Set with enamell'd studs, as mire is here. 

Pepys {Diary 2. 56) says : ' This day Mr. Holden sent me a 
bever, which cost me £4 5s.' — NED. 

3. 3. 83. the huge great Porter. ' William Evans, the 
porter to James I ; he was seven feet and a half in height ; 
. . . but he was what the Latines call compernis, knocking his 
knees together, and going out squalling with his feet, but also 
halted a little, yet made a shift to dance in an Antimasque 
at court, where he drew little Jeffry (Hudson) out of his 
pocket, first to the wonder, and then to the laughter of the 
beholders.' — G. The same person is probably alluded to 
in A Tale of A Tub [Wks. 6. 179) : 

I had crack'd all their costards, 
As nimbly as a squirrel will crack nuts. 
And flourished like to Hercules the porter 
Among the pages. 

3. 3. 93. In furnishing your feare with matter first. 
If you have any. 

In furnishing you honorable grounds for avoiding a fight 
if you fear to enter it. 

3. 3. 118. For metre, see note on i. 2. 47. 

For sha | dowes have | their fig | ure, mo [ tion 



ACT III] Explanatory Notes 169 

3. 3. 127. silken phrase. For the use of silken as ' soft, 
flattering,' see Loves Labors Lost 5. 2. 406 : ' Taffeta phrases, 
silken terms precise.' — NED. 

3. 3. 128—9. He'l . . . Law. ' Jonson alludes to the famous 
Petition of Right, which was long in agitation, and which, 
after being eagerly debated in both houses of parUament, 
received the royal assent in June 1628.'— G, 

3.4.2. There set him downe. Bow him, yet bow him more. 
'In Jonson's time there was great faith placed in this mode of 
treatment. In Richard Brome's Sparagus Garden (vol. iii, 
p. 127) we find : 

Fris. Oh me ! why, mistris, look up, look up, I say. 
Reh. Clap her cheek, rub her nose I 
Fris. Sprinkle cold water on her face ! 
Reh. Cut her lace ! cut her lace ! And bow her for- 
ward, so, so, so ! 

And Beaumont and Fletcher in the Maid's Tragedy : 

I've heard if there be any life, but bow 
The body thus, and it will shew itself. 

Soo, too, Massinger, in the Duke of Milan (vol. i, p. 277), 
when Marcelia swoons, makes Francisco say : 

What have I done ? 
Madam ! for heaven's sake, Madam ! O my fate, 
I'll bend her body.' — C. 

3. 4. 7. The verse is metrically irregular. 

Pinch him | in the nape | of the neck ; now : | nip 
him, I nip him. 

3. 4. 9. The monosyllable, gone, because of emphatic 
meaning, may be pronounced as a disyllabic (Abbott, §481). 

Tell him | the Cap | taines go i en. Ha ! | He's gone : Sir. 

3. 4. II. The interjection and short interrogative sen- 
tence make metrical arrangement difficult ; the following 
one-verse scansion may be admissible : 

O ! How I doe you feele ] your selfe ? | Sore, sore. | 

But where ? 



170 The Magnetic Lady [ACT in 

3.4.17. hee did feele no more Then a great horse. ' Horse, 
fig. Applied contemptuously or playfully to a man, with 
reference to various qualities of the quadruped.' Cf. 1606. 
Shaks. Troilus and Cressida 3. 3. 126 : ' The unknowne Aiax ; 
Heavens what a man is there ? a very Horse, That has he 
knowes not what.' — NED. 

3. 4. 22—5. Doctors . . . win. Cf . Chaucer, Prologue 425—8 : 

Ful redy hadde he his apothecaries, 
To sende him drogges and his letuaries, 
For ech of hem made other for to winne ; 
Hir frendschipe nas nat newe to beginne. 

As Professor Cook observes, now in line 23 should read new, 
since Jonson is quoting Chaucer. As the folio edition of 
Chaucer (1602) has the form new, the mistake must have been 
made by the printers of the first edition of this play. 

3. 4. 23—6. who . . . bands. Whose friendship is of long 
standing. They could teach each other how to get gain when 
they were babies in swaddling clothes. 

3. 4. 27. Your Chawcers clouts, and wash your dishes with 
'hem. The term clout is suggested by swath bands of the 
line before. The doctor contrives to dismiss Polish, wittily 
using terms her quotation suggests. 

3. 4. 32. a Pursinesse, ... or tumor o' the Purse. Cf. 
Earle's Microcosmography (pub. 1628), A Mere Dull Physician, 
in Morley's Character Writing, p. 162 : ' If he have leisure 
to be idle (that is to study), he has a smatch at alchemy, 
and is sick of the philosopher's stone ; a disease uncurable, 
but by an abundant phlebotomy of the purse.' 

3.4.41. chiragra, A kind of Crampe, or Hand-Gout. Jon- 
son used this expression in The Devil is an Ass {Wks. 5. 78) : 

But now, sir. 
My learned counsel, they must have a feeling, 
They'U part, sir, with no books, without the hand-gout 
Be oil'd : and I must furnish. 

Cf . also Overbury's Characters (ed. Morley, p. 63) : ' His libera- 
lity can never be said to be gouty-handed.' 



ACT III] Explanatory Notes 171 

3. 4. 45. Sweat, Purge, and Phlebotomy. These were the 
chief methods used in the cure of sickness or indisposition. 
Burton, Anat. of Mel. 1. 271—2, enumerates the conditions 
which are benefited by these means. For a humorous satire 
on the excess to which the practise of phlebotomy was carried 
at one time by physicians, see Le Sage's Gil Bias, Bk. 2, 
chaps. 3-5. 

3. 4. 57. the tother. This is a survival of the early ME, 
form ; the t of the first word being added to the second ; thet 
other becomes the tother. 

3. 4. 60. From the King's-head. ' The reader will be 
pleased to learn that this tavern stood in New-Fish street : 
it was, as our old writers affirm, " haunted by roysters," 
so that the wine drank there was unquestionably of the very 
first quality.' — G. ' Kings' Head Court, Fish Street Hill, 
to Pudding Lane, marks the site of the famous old King's 
Head Tavern, " where Roysters did range."' — ^Wheatley and 
Cunningham, London Past and Present 2. 344. 

3. 4. 62. E mute may be pronounced (Abbott, § 487). 

That is I my course | with all | my Pa I tients. 

3.4.63. Secundum Artem. According to the rules of art. 

3. 4. 64. pro captu recipientis. For the pleasing of the 
recipient. 

3. 4. 64. R often softens a preceding unaccented vowel 
(Abbott, § 464). 

And ve | ry safe | pro captu | recip | ien ; tis 

3. 4. 66—9. I . . . malady. The rabbi was no more serious, 
apparently, than Dr. Rut ; his main concern, we may infer, 
was to drink the sweetened white wine. 

3. 4. 68. For metre, see notes on 3. 4. 64 ; i. i. 81. 
With sugar | and by | the resi | dence i' | the bot : tome, 

3. 5. 21. the Politiques. See Glossary, ' In 1602, the 
combined remonstrances of the church and the magistrates 

M 



172 The Magnetic Lady [ACT III 

extorted from the king of France an edict condemning to 
death whoever should give or accept a challenge or act as 
second. But public opinion was revolted by such rigour, 
and the statute remained a dead letter. During the reign 
of James I duels appear to have been frequent, and were 
resorted to, not only by the upper classes, but amongst the 
lower orders. This appears from a speech of Bacon, when 
attorney-general, in the case of a challenge brought before 
the Star Chamber Court. Bacon therein attributes the 
frequency of the practice to the rooted prejudice of the 
times, and hopes that the great would think it time to leave 
off the custom, when they find it adopted by barber-surgeons 
and butchers. ..." I will prosecute," he says, " if any man 
appoint the field, though no fight takes place ; if any man 
send a challenge in writing or verbally ; if any man accept 
a challenge, or consent to be a second ; if any man 
depart the realm in order to fight ; if any man revive a 
quarrel after the late proclamation." ' — ^Millingen, History of 
Duelling, 2. 9. 

3. 5. 26—37. I^ thing. The duel of honor flourished in 

France. ' Duelling is a special development of chivalry, and 
chivalry is one of the phases of the protective spirit which 
was predominant in France up to the time of the Revolution. 
Add to this the keen sense of personal honour, the suscepti- 
bility and the pugnacity which distinguish the French race. 
Montaigne, when touching on this subject in his essays, says, 
" Put three Frenchmen together on the plains of Libya, and 
they will not be a month in company without scratching one 
another's eyes out." The third chapter of d'Audiguier's 
Ancien usage des duels is headed, " Pourquoi les seuls Fran^ais 
se battent en duel." English literature abounds with allusions 
to this characteristic of the French nation. Lord Herbert 
of Cherbury, who was ambassador at the court of Louis XIIL, 
says, " There is scarce a Frenchman worth looking on who 
has not killed his man in a duel." ' — Encycl. Brit., For 
full information about the vogue of dueling in France, see 
Millingen, The History of Duelling, Vol. 1. 

3. 5. 36. For metre, see notes on 3. 4. 64 ; 3. 3. 43. 



ACT III] Explanatory Notes 173 

No Poul I trounerie, | like urg | ing why ? | wherefore ? 

3. 5. 52. you are one 

0' the deepest Politigues I ever met. 

Compass' language is intentionally ambiguous : a politique 
may be i. 'a sagacious, prudent person ; a skilled politician ' : 
or 2. 'a shrewd schemer.' 

3. 5. 56. For metre, see note on i, i. 61. 

That you | are ac | cessar | y to | his death, 

3. 5. 58. the corruption of one thing in nature. 
Is held the Generation of another. 

The terms corruption and generation were frequently employed 
in mediaeval philosophy to denote contrary processes. Their 
use originated from Aristotle's treatise, De Generatione et 
Corruptione. Cf. Middleton and Dekker, The Roaring Girl 
3. 4 : ' Would you know a catchpoole rightly deriu'd, the 
corruption of a Cittizen is the generation of a serieant.' — NED. 
3. 5. 69. For metre, see note on i. 2. 9. 

This bag | gage Knight. | Peace to | you all | Gentlemen, 

3. 5. 70. Mushrome. The use of this term to signify ' an 
upstart, a worthless fellow,' is found in several passages of 
Jonson's works. In Every Man Out {Wks. 2. 36), Macilente 
rails against 

Such bulrushes ; these mushroom gentlemen. 
That shoot up in a night to place and worship. 

See also Catiline (Wks. 4. 221) : 

And we must glorify 
A mushroom ! one of yesterday ! 

The Silent Woman {Wks. 3. 370) : ' A mere talking mole, 
hang him ! no mushroom was ever so fresh.' 

Upton refers this last quotation to Plautus' Bacch. 4. 7. 23: 

lam nihil sapit, 
Nee sentit ; tanti'st, quanti est fungus putidus. 

The term is also used in a derogatory sense in Plautus' Tri- 
nummus 4. 2. 12 : 

Pol hie quidem fungino generest. 

M2 



174 The Magnetic Lady [act III 

3, 5. 71. For metre, see notes on i. i. 28 ; i. i. 81. 

Me with I a Chal | lenge : | which I | come to | antici : pate. 

3. 5. 76. Captaine, you are a Coward, 

If you not fight i' your shirt. 

In his desire to save his clothes, the courtier avails himself 
of the opinion that it is a mark of valor to fight without any 
sort of protection ; cf. Massinger, The Maid of Honour (Wks. 
3. 8) : 

Gasp. I will raise me a company of foot ; 
And, when at push of pike I am to enter 
A breach, to show my valour I have bought me 
An armour cannon-proof. 

Bert. You will not leap, then 
O'er an outwork, in your shirt ? 

Gasp. I do not Hke 
Activity that way. 

3- 5- 77- Sir I not meane. For the omission of do, see 
note on 2. i. 13. 
3. 5. 92. you ha' read the Play there, the New Inne. For 

a discussion of the relation of this play to The New Inn, and 
of Jonson's debt to Greek philosophy for his ideas of valor, 
see Introduction, p. xxv. 

3. 5. 96. For metre, see note on 2. 5. 44. 

Lies for | a pri | vate cause. | Sir, He | redargue ; you, 

3. 5. 98. For metre, see note on i. 3. 16. 

I long I to heare | a man | dispute | in his shirt 

3. 5. 100. His valour will take cold. His valour will cool ; 
it will lose the support of passion. 

3. 5. 113. Towne-top's his Author! According to Nares, 
the town-top or parish-top was one bought for public exercise 
in a parish. Stevens says : ' This is one of the customs now 
laid aside. A large top was formerly kept in every village, 
to be whipped in frosty weather, that the peasants might be 
kept warm by exercise, and out of mischief while they could 
not work.' — Nares, Glos. The implication of Compass' 
remark is, possibly, that Silkworm has not read the treatises 



ACT III] Explanatory Notes 175 

on fencing and dueling (such as Saviola's Of Honour and 
Honorable Quarrels), but has picked up his information by 
listening to the gossip about the town-top. 

3. 5. 116. o' the first head. See note on 2. 3. 57. 

3.5.122. Perdu's. See the Glossary. Shakespeare, Lear 

4- 7- 35 : 

To watch, poor Perdu 
With this thin helme. 

Rushw. Hist. Coll. (Ser. 4. 2. 1173) : ' Our Purdues lie so 
near the Enemy, as to hear them discourse.' 

Chapman, The Widow's Tears {Wks. 3. 23) : 

Revolts from manhood, 
Debaucht perdus, have by their companies 
Turn'd Devill like themselves. — NED. 

3. 5. 123. For the metre, see note on i. i. 28. 

The one, [ that they | are shot free ; | the oth | er, 
sword free. 
3. 5. 134. For the metre, see note on 2. 6. 74. 
Or ig I norance | being | the root | of it. 

3. 5. 137. exemplified Malefactors. See the Glossary, s, v. 
exemplified. 

3. 5. 139. One that hath lost his eares, . . . 
And is a Histrionicall Contempt. 

' This is evidently meant of Scribe Prynne, and may be con- 
sidered as " the retort courteous " to the histrionical con- 
tempt with which he had assailed the dramatic writers.' — G. 
Gifford made two mistakes in this note. Jonson could not 
have meant William Prynne, because this play was acted in 
1632, and Prynne did not lose his ears until May, 1633 ; see 
DNB. He probably refers to Alexander Gill the younger, 
with whom 'Jonson had a long-standing feud, which began 
as early as 1623, in consequence of the elder Gill's patronage 



176 The Magnetic Lady [act III 

of Wither's satires.' — DNB. The difficulty with this identi- 
fication is the fact that Gill did not actually lose his ears : 
on November i, 1628, he was sentenced to degradation from 
the ministry, to a fine of 2000 £, and to the loss of both ears ; 
but on the intercession of his father, Laud consented to miti- 
gate the fine, and forego the corporal punishment ; and on 
November 30, 1630, a free pardon was signed by Charles I. — 
DNB. That Jonson did actually refer to Gill is shown by his 
retort to Gill's attack Uppon Ben Johnson's Magnetick Ladye, 
in which he speaks as if the sentence by statute were equivalent 
to its execution : 

Shall the prosperity of a pardon still 

Secure thy railing rhimes, infamous Gill, 

At Libelling ? Shall no Star-chamber peers. 

Pillory, nor whip, (nor cart) nor want of ears. 

All which thou hast incurr'd deservedly, 

Nor degradation from the ministry, 

To be the Denis of thy father's school. 

Keep in thy bawling wit, thou bawhng fool ? 

Thinking to stir me, thou hast lost thy end, 

I'll laugh at thee, poor wretched tike : go send 

Thy blatant music abroad, and teach it rather 

A tune to drown the ballads of thy father : 

For thou hast nought in thee, to cure his fame, 

But tune and noise, and echo of his shame. 

A rogue by statute, censur'd to be whipt, 

Cropt, branded, slit, neck-stockt : — Go, you are stript ! 

The expression, histrionical contempt, does not, as Gifford 
implies, mean a contempt expressed in a satiric drama; the 
passage means : 

And is a feigned or acted comtempt 

Of what a man fears most ; it being an evil 

In his own judgement unavoidable. 

See the Glossary, s. v. histrionicall. 

3. 5. 145. Theeves adjudg'd to die. Theft was a capital 
offense. See Harrison's Elizabethan England, p. 236 : ' In 
cases of felony, manslaughter, robbery, murder, rape, piracy, 
and such capital crimes as are not reputed for treason or hurt 
of the estate, our sentence pronounced upon the offender is. 



ACT III] Explanatory Notes 177 

to hang till he be dead.' Idem, p. 243 : ' Witches are hanged, 
or sometimes burned ; but thieves are hanged (as I said be- 
fore) generally on a gibbet or gallows.' 

3. 5. 147. ' The e in entertainment, &c, which originally 
preceded the final syllable, is sometimes retained, and, even 
where not retained, sometimes pronounced ' (Abbott, § 488). 

As being | a spec | iall en ] tertain | e ment 

3. 5. 147. a special entertainment For our rogue People. 

The amusement which the people derived from executions is 
suggested in a passage in The Devil is an Ass {Wks. 5. 136) : 

Iniq. . . . Thou mayst have a triumphal egression. 
Pug. In a cart, to be hang'd ! 
Iniq. No, child, in a car. 
The chariot of triumph, which most of them are. 

See also Boulton, The Amusements of Old London 2. 244 : 
' Could the taste of Londoners for horrors, the interest in 
suffering which appeared in half their sports and amusements, 
be better displayed than in the records of their delight in the 
exhibitions of Tyburn and Tower Hill ? We believe that no 
spectacle of the last century, no coronation, no triumphal 
progress of captured standards to St. Paul's, or treasure to 
Mint during the first Mr. Pitt's great war, ever drew such 
crowds into the streets as when Balmerino and Kilmarnock 
went to Tower Hill, or Lord Ferrers or Dr. Dodd, Jack 
Sheppard or John Rann, made the long and doleful journey 
from Newgate to Tyburn. . . . When the criminal was noto- 
rious, or distinguished, or pitied, or execrated above the 
common, his agony was prolonged by crowds in such numbers 
as lengthened the passage through the streets by hours. The 
space of time which lay between the stroke of the bell at 
midnight under the condemned man's cell window in Newgate 
Gaol and the claiming of his body by his friends, or by the 
surgeons for dissection, . . . was a time of revel and merry- 
making for his fellow-citizens.' 

3. 5. 152. For the metre, see note on 2. 5. 44. 

That might | be avoid | ed. I, | and with | assuri ance, 



178 " The Magnetic Lady [act hi, 

3- 5- 153- For the metre, see note on i. 2. 9. 

That it I is found | in Nob | le-men, | and Gentle men, 

3. 5. 154. Of the best sheafe. The term sheaf is ' applied 
to various things collected or bundled together.' — Nares, 
Gloss. Here it means rank or class. Cf. Every Man Out 
[Wks. 2. 51) : ' I am so haunted at the court, and at my lod- 
ging, with your refined choice spirits, that it makes me clean 
of another garb, another sheaf, I know not how ! I cannot 
frame me to your harsh vulgar phrase, ' tis against my 
genius.' Cf. also Staunton's emendation of Hamlet i. 3. 74, 
and Ingleby's citations in support of Staunton in the Fumess 
Variorum, p. 69. 

3. 5. 156. The accent may be upon a monosyllabic pre- 
position (Abbott, §457a). 

And pub I like re | puta | tion to | defend. 

3. 5. 158—65. And . . . foot. This passage apparently 
alludes to the struggle of the citizens of London to resist thy 
compulsory loans, benevolences, imposts, and rates upon 
merchandise by which Charles strove to govern without 
parliament. This play, it should be remembered, was acted 
three years after Charles had dissolved his third parliament. 
The opposition of the citizens, as Compass remarks, was not 
furious, but close and united. London was, later, during the 
Civil War, the stronghold of the parliamentary party. See 
Norton's Historical Account of the City of London, chap. 6, 
and Gardiner's History of England, Vol. 6. 

3. 5. 170. For the metre, see note on i. 3. 41. 

There are | three val | ours yet, | which Sir | Diaph '■ anous, 

3. 5. 175. our Genii, or good spirits. Genius : ' With 
reference to classical pagan belief : The tutelary god or 
attendant spirit alloted to every person at his birth, to govern 
his fortunes and determine his character, and finally to con- 
duct him out of the world.' Shaks. Macb. 3. i. 56 : 

'Under him 
My Genius is rebuk'd, as it is said 
Mark Anthonies was by Caesar.' — NED. 



ACT III] Explanatory Notes 179 

3. 5. 179. Sine divino aliquo afflatu. Cicero, De Natura 
Deorum 2. 66. 167 : ' Nemo igitur vir magnus sine aliquo afflatu 
divino unquam iuit.' 

3. 5. 180. a Christian valour. Cf. Matt. 5. 39—41 : ' But 
I say unto you, Resist not h:m that is evil : but whosoever 
smiteth thee on thy rij!;iit cheek, turn to him the other also. 
And if any man would go to law with thee, and take away thy 
coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall 
compel thee to go one mile, go with him two.' 

3. 5. 183. For the metre, see notes on 3. 4. 64; 3. 5. 186. 
See also Abbott, § 457 a. 

With In I jury doth | unto | you ; and | consists 

3. 5. 188. The divine Image. Alluding to Gen. i. 26, etc. 
3. 5. 188. For the metre, see note on i. i. 61. 

The di | vine Im | age in | a man ? | O Sir ! 

3. 6. 13. butter'd newes ! This is an allusion to Nathaniel 
Butter (d. 1664), whom Jonson had satirized in The Staple of 
News. He was a publisher and news-collector. By his 
success in reporting news he virtually created the London 
press. See DNB., and Winter's edition of The Staple of 
News, Introduction, pp. XXXV— LI. 

3. 6. 20. crack't within the Ring. ' The gold coin of our 
ancestors was very thin, and therefore liable to crack. It 
still, however, continued passable until the crack extended 
beyond the ring, i.e. beyond the inmost round which circum- 
scribed the inscription ; when it became uncurrent, and might 
be legally refused. . . . The application of the expression to 
anything seriously injured, debased, unserviceable, factitious, 
&c., is perfectly natural, and in one or other of these senses 
it is to be found in almost all the writers of Jonson's age.'— G. 
See also McKerrow's note on line 642 of his edition of B. Bar- 
nes' The Devil's Charter: 'Broken within the ring.' This 
recalls " clipped or cracked, within the ring," a phrase pro- 
erly applied to a coin which was damaged within the boundary 
of the inscription, and hence not current. As used of women, 
it meant both " having lost virginity " and " dishonest." 



i8o The Magnetic Lady [ACT III 

Cf. Lyly, Woman in the Moone, III. ii. 266, and Hamlet, II. ii. 
448.' See also Beaumont and Fletcher, The Captain 3. 246 : 

Which may awaken his compassion 
To make you clerk o' the kitchen, and at length, 
Come to be married to my lady's woman 
After she's crack'd i' the ring. — C. 

3. 6. 26. The slip is his then. ' Sir Diaphanous plays on 
the double meaning of the word slip, which signified either 
a base-born child, or a piece of false money. In the latter 
sense it occurs in many of our old dramas, and generally, as 
here, in conjunction with counterfeit. Thus Shakespeare : 

What counterfeit did I give you ? 

The slip, the slip, sir. Romeo and Juliet. 

Again : " If I could have remembered a gilt counterfeit, thou 
wouldst not have slipped out of my contemplation." Troilus 
and Cressida.' — G. 

For the use of slip as a base-born child, see Dekker, The 
Devils Last Will {Wks. (Grosart) 3. 353) : ' Because he is a 
slip of mine owne grafting, I likewise bequeath to him my 
best slippers ' ; Crabbe, The Borough 20. 247 : ' He talk'd 
of bastard slips, and cursed his bed.' — NED. 

3. Ch. 10. the accidental! cause. The four causes of 
Aristotle were the efficient cause, the formal, the material, and 
the final ; but Ayliffe's Parerga (1726) suggests that other 
divisions were made : ' There are seven Causes consider'd in 
Judgment, viz. the Material, Efficient, and Formal Cause ; 
and likewise a Natural, Substantial, and Accidental Cause ; 
and lastly a Final Cause.' — NED. 

3. Ch. 20. an overgrowne, or superannuated Poet. See 
note on i. 2. 33. 

3. Ch. 22. take my Tobacco. Smoking was very popular in 
England ; cf . Besant's London in the Time of the Tudors, p. 285 : 
' The palmy time of tobacco extended over the fifty years 
after its introduction (c. 1565). During this time the use of 
tobacco penetrated all ranks and classes of society. The 
grave divine, the soldier, the lawyer, the gallant about town, 



ACT III] Explanatory Notes i8i 

the merchant, the craftsman, the 'prentice, all used pipes 
At the theatre the young fellow called for his pipe and for 
tobacco and began to smoke. . . . People went to bed with 
tobacco box and pipe and candle on a table by the bedside 
in case they might wake up in the night and feel inclined for 
tobacco. After supper in a middle-class family, all the men 
and women smoked together.' 

Paul Hentzner describes the smoking at theatres and 
elsewhere : ' At these spectacles, and everywhere else, the 
English are constantly smoking tobacco. . . . They have 
pipes . . . made of clay, into the farther end of which they put 
the herb, so dry that it may be rubbed into powder ; and 
putting fire to it, they draw the smoke into their mouths, 
which they puff out again through their nostrils, like funnels, 
along with plenty of phlegm and defluxion from the head.' — 
Hentzner's Itinerarium, cited by Morley, Mem. 137. 

King James I opposed smoking in his Counterblaste to 
Tobacco. Jonson satirized the habit in Every Man In, Every 
Man Out, Cynthia's Revels, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew 
Fair. For an adequate treatment of the general subject of 
tobacco, see Fairholt's Tobacco : Its History and Associations. 

3. Ch. 23. Magna Charta of reprehension. Cf. The New 
Inn {Wks. 5. 310) : 

It is against my freehold, my inheritance. 

My Magna Charta, cor laetificat, 

To drink such balderdash, or bonny-clabber ! 

Also T. Watson's Body Divin (1692), p. 460 : ' The Covenant of 
Grace is our Magna Charta, by vertue of which God passeth 
himself over to us to be our God.' — NED. 

Magna Charta, of course, refers to the Great Charter of 
English personal and political liberty, granted by King John 
in 1 215, and appealed to in all disputes between king and 
subjects, till the establishment of constitutional government. 

3. Ch. 30. I will search what foUowes ... to the naile. 
'Jonson alludes to the practice of the ancient artists, who 
proved the polish of their works, by running their nails over 
the surface.' — G. 



i82 The Magnetic Lady [ACT IV 

4. 2. 3. For the metre, see notes on 3. 3- 43 i i- i- 81. 

Knowes shee | o' this | accident ? | Alas | Sir, no ; 
4. 2. 4. For the metre, see note on 2. 4. 16. 
Would she ] might ne | ver knowit. | I think | her La : diship 

4. 2. 15. The top, or the Top-gallant of our Law P See the 

Glossary, s. v. Top and Top-gallant. The Devil is an Ass 
(Wks. 5. 113) : 

The top of woman! all her sex in abstract! 

Top and top-gallant are sailors' terms familiar to a maritime 
people like the Londoners. 

4. 2. 26. You read Almanacks. 'Abnanac-making had 
become an extensive and profitable trade in this country at 
the beginning of the 17th century, and with the exception 
of some fifteen or twenty years at the time of the Rebellion 
continued to flourish until its close. There were three distinct 
classes of almanacs published during the seventeenth cen- 
tury — the common almanacs, which preceded and followed 
the period of the Rebellion, and the political and satirical 
almanacs that were the direct outcome of that event. 

' The common almanacs came out year after year in un- 
broken uniformity. They were generally of octavo size and 
consisted of two parts, an almanac and a prognostication. 
Good and evil days were recorded, and they contained rules 
as to bathing, purging, etc., descriptions of the four seasons 
and rules to know the weather, and during the latter half of 
the century an astrological prediction and " scheme " of the 
ensuing year. 

' In the preceding century the makers of almanacs were 
" Physitians and Preests," but they now adopted many other 
titles, such as " Student in Astrology," " Philomath," " Well 
Wilier to the Mathematics." The majority of them were 
doubtless astrologers, but not a few were quack doctors who 
only published their almanacs as advertisements.' — From 
note by W. S. Johnson, abridged from Notes and Queries, 
6th Ser., 12. 243. 



ACT iv] Explanatory Notes 183 

Jonson satirized the belief in the predictions of almanacs 
in Every Man Out {Wks. 2. 39—41) and The Alchemist 
{Wks. 4. 41). For an idea of the extent which the pubhshing 
of almanacs reached at one time, see the article, Almanacs for 
the Ensuing Year, in The Book of Days 2. 715. 

4. 2. 31. And choose your Mistris 

By the good dayes, and leave her by the bad P 

Brand (2. 44—51) discusses Days Lucky or Unlucky, from 
which the following extract is taken : ' Bourne (chap. XVIII), 
speaking of that superstitious custom among the heathens 
of observing one day as good, and another as bad, observes : 
" that among these were lucky and unlucky days ; some were 
Dies atri, and some Dies albi. The Atri were pointed out in 
their calendar with a black character, the Albi with a white ; 
the former to denote a day of bad success, the latter a day 
of good. Thus have the monks, in the dark and unlearned 
ages of Popery, copy'd after the heathens, and dream'd them- 
selves into the like superstitions, esteeming one day more 
successful than another." . . . Thomas Lodge, in his In- 
carnate Devils, 1596, p. 12, glances as follows at the superstitious 
observer of lucky and unlucky times : "He will not eat his 
dinner before he hath lookt in his almanacke." Mason, in 
the Anatomic of Sorcerie, 1612, p. 85, enumerates among the 
superstitious of that age, " Regard ers of times, as they are 
which will have one time more lucky than another : to be 
borne at one hower more unfortunate than at another : to take 
a journey or any other enterprize in hand, to be more dange- 
rous or prosperous at one time than another : as likewise, if 
such a festivall day fall upon such a day of the weeke, or such 
like, we shall have such a yeare following : and many other 
such like vaine speculations, set downe by our astrologians, 
having neither footing on God's word, nor yet natural reason 
to support them ; but being grounded onely upon the super- 
stitious imagination of man's braine." ' 

4. 2. 34, Allestree. 'A Richard Allestry, of Derby . . . 
was the author of several almanacs, ranging from 1624 to 
1643:— DNB. 



184 The Magnetic Lady [ACT IV 

4. 2. 38. Another manner of peice. For this use of piece 
as an individual, see Bartholomew Fair [Wks. 4. 368) : ' Gentle- 
men, you do not know him ; he is another manner of piece than 
you think for : but nineteen years old, and yet he is taller than 
either of you by the head, God bless him ! ' 

4. 2. 39. sub sigillo. Under the seal (of professional 
secrecy) . 

4. 2. 46. a Bencher, and now double Reader. See the 
Glossary, s. v. Bencher. ' " In those days," says Sir W. Dug- 
dale, (i. e. when readings in the Inns of Court were kept up 
with some degree of solenmity,) " in those days men came 
to be single readers at fifteen or sixteen years standing in the 
House and read double about seven years afterwards. Orig. 
Jur., p. 209. Again : " By the antient orders of the House, 
(Middle Temple,) now disused, he is in turn to read again, 
and then is called a double reader." ' — G. 

4. 2. 56. A knitting Cup. The drinking of wine at marr- 
iages was considered necessary. Compleat Vintner (1720), 
quoted by Brand : 

What priest can join two lovers' hands, 
But wine must seal the marriage-bands ? 
As if celestial wine was thought 
Essential to the sacred knot. 
And that each bridegroom and his bride 
Believ'd they were not firmly ty'd 
Till Bacchus, with his bleeding tun. 
Had finished what the priest begun. 

The New Inn {Wks. 5. 404) : 

Lord B. Get our bed ready, chamberlain, 
And host, a bride-cup. 

See the account of this custom in Brand, Pop. Antiq. 2. 136—9. 

4. 3. 3. a craek'd commoditie. Damaged goods ; fig. 
A marriageable girl who has proved of blemished moral 
character. 

4. 3. 4. broke bulke. Punning on the meaning of btdke : 
I. ' a cargo of a ship ; the whole lot ' (of a commodity) ; and 
2. ' the belly.' Cf. Heywood, The Iron Age 2. 3. i {Wks. 1874, 
3. 392) : ' My sword through Priams bulke shall flie.' — NED. 



ACT iv] Explanatory Notes 185 

4. 3. 10. To make a Musse. A muss means a scramble. 
According to Halliwell, there was a scrambling game amongst 
children so called. Brand discusses this {Pop. Ant. 2. 429) : 
' In Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, act i, sc. 11, the 
ancient puerile sport called muss is thus mentioned : 

Ant. " When I cry'd, ho ! 
Like boys unto a muss, kings would start forth, 
And cry, your will ? " ' 

Jonson used the term in Bartholomew Fair {Wks. 4. 446) : 

Cokes. Ods so ! a muss, a muss, a muss, a muss ! 

{Falls a scrambling for the pears. 

4. 3. 13. For the metre, see note on 3. 4. 64. 

The in | jury is | done you, | and by | him on i ly ; 

4. 3. 24. Infamous, quasi, in communem famam : 
And Matrimony, quasi, matter of Money. 

' This is not one of the worst of those idle conundrums, which 
were once so much in vogue. Even the grave Camden did 
not disdain to unbend with them ; first taking care, however, 
to sanction his practice by the laudable example of one Dio- 
nysius, like himself, perhaps, a schoolmaster, who "merrily" 
called mice- holes mysteria, [j.u<JTY]pta, 6ti tou? [jlv? nqpst.' — G. 
For another example of this sort of thing, see The New Inn 
{Wks. 5. 336) : 

Tip. Thou hast good learning in thee : made. Fly. 

Fly. And I say made to my colonel. 

Host. Well maded of them both. 

Lord B. They are match'd, i faith. 

Tip. But, Fly, why made ? 

Fly. Quasi magis aude.' 

4- 3- 33- Don Bias ? See the Glossary, s. v. Don. ' Don, 
the Spanish " Master " or " Mister," was often used in a 
depreciatory manner, influenced by the inimical feeling be- 
tween the nations, which has been influential in making the 
stereotyped dark stage villain. Dekker, in The Deuills An- 
swer to Pierce Pennylesse, Wks. I. go, 93, refers to Don 
Lucifer, Don Pluto, Don Beelzebub. In his Lanthorne and 
Candle-Light, 3. 205, Don Lucifer and others occur. Spanish 



i86 The Magnetic Lady [act iv 

words, in the last half of the sixteenth century, had crept 
into English, especially in the vocabulary of war. Wheatley, 
Every Man In, says that in R. Barret's Theorike and Practike 
of Modern Warres (1598) a third of the words are Spanish.' — 
Henry, note on The Silent Woman 5. i. 95. 

The use of a term with two meanings, one complimentary, 
the other derogatory, is in keeping with the ambiguity of many 
of Compass' remarks to Practise, Bias, and Silkworm ; under 
the form of deference and compliment he expresses a veiled 
contempt. See 3. 5. 52, and note. 

4. 3. 39. ' Slid. See the Glossary. 

4. 3. 49. the Court Complement? The elaborate formality 
of court life, combined with coldness, selfishness, vice, and 
frivolity, made the courtier the subject of some of Jonson's 
strongest satire. See Every Man Out, Cynthia's Revels, and 
The Poetaster. 

4. 4. 7. A Viper, that hast eat a passage through me. In 
Brand's Pop. Antiq. (3. 379) there is a reference to the vulgar 
belief ' that young vipers destroy the old females when they 
come to the birth, and strike the male dead at the instant of 
their conception.' Cf. also Pericles i.i. 64: 

I am no viper, yet I feed 
On mothers's flesh which did me breed. 

4. 4. 16. Thou bird of night. Polish, in her anger, compares 
Nurse Keep to an owl or a raven. Both of these were con- 
sidered birds of ill -omen ; see Brand's Pop. Antiq. 3. 206—12. 

4. 4. 25. the She-man-Divell in puff'd sleeves. Women 
as well as men wore huge sleeves. For a true idea of the 
extravagance of dress at that time, one should see illustrations : 
on page i of Stephen Gosson's Pleasant Quippes for Upstart 
Newfangled Gentlewomen there is one showing puffed sleeves 
and hooped skirts ; there are also excellent illustrations in 
Stubbes, pp. 21, 23, and 24. He considers the variety of 
sleeves worn entirely too great (pp. 74 ff.) . On p. 73 of Stubbes 
there is a paragraph which throws light on the expression, 
she-man-devil : ' The Women also there haue dublets & lerkins, 
as men haue heer, buttoned up the brest, and made with wings, 



ACT ivj Explanatory Notes 187 

welts, and pinions on the shoulder points, as mans apparel is 
for all the world ; & though this be a kinde of attire appropriate 
onely to man, yet they blush not to wear it ; and if they could 
as wel chaunge their sex, & put on the kinde of man, as they can 
weare apparel assigned onely to man, I think they would as 
verely become men indeed, as now they degenerat from godly, 
sober women, in wearing this wanton lewd kinde of attire, 
proper onely to man . . . Wherefore these Women may not 
improperly be called Hermaphroditi, that is. Monsters of 
both kindes, half women, half men.' For further infor- 
mation on the costume of the period, see Stubbes, Anat. Ahus. 
chap. 4 ; Gosson, Pleasant Quippes for Upstart Newfangled 
Gentlewomen ; Planch6, Cyclopcedia of Costume ; and Fairholt, 
Costume in England. 

4. 4. 39. The Practice of Piety. This was a work by Lewis 
Bayly, Bishop of Bangor. It attained extraordinary popu- 
larity in Puritan circles. Its aim was to direct a Chriatian 
how he may please God. The date of its first publication 
is not known ; but in 1613 it had reached its third, and in 1792 
its seventy-first edition. It was translated into French, 
Italian, Dutch, German, Swedish, Welsh, Hungarian, and 
Polish. In 1665 John Eliot translated it into the language 
of the Massachusetts Indians. In popularity it rivaled 
The Whole Duty of Man. ' It was part of the scanty portion 
that Bunyan's wife brought to her husband's home, and to 
its perusal he ascribes the first dawn of his fervid spiritual 
experiences.' — DNB., and Bihl. Amer., Vol. i. 

4. 4. 40. a practice o£ impiety. An impious plot or scheme. 
See the Glossary, s. v. Practise. 

4. 4. 48. Conjur'd a spirit up I sha' not lay againe ? Cf. 
The New Inn (Wks. 5. 371—2) : 

Beware you do not conjure up a spirit 
You cannot lay, 

4. 4. 51. pray of. * In Early English of is used for from, 
out of, off, as in " He lighted of his steed, arose of the dead." 
"The leaves fall of the tree"' (Abbott, § 165). 

N 



i88 The Magnetic Lady [act IV 

4. 5. 9. a newes. News is now considered plural, but NED. 
cites passages from 1566 to 1897 in which it is construed as 
singular. In the 15th century it had the form newesse, a 
singular form. 

4. 5. 16. For the metre, see notes on 2. 5. 44 ; i. i. 28. 

Where He | intreat | you not | to your losse, | be leeve ; it. 
4. 6. 4. For the metre, see note on 2. 5. 44. 

The Clarke | knowes me | and trusts | me. Ha you 
I the Par son ? 
4. 6. 8. For the metre, see notes on i. i. 61 ; i. i. 28. 

And pre | vent that. | But take | your Li | cence with ; you, 
4. 6. 10. For the metre, see note on i. 3. 16. 
He doe it | for you, | stay you | with us | at his church, 

4. 6. 17. the Projects generall. Jonson here alludes to the 
system of patents and monopoHes which he satirized in The 
Fox and The Devil is an Ass. In this system there were two 
agents regularly distinguished — ^the patentee, sometimes also 
called the projector, whose part it is to supply the funds for 
the establishment of the monopoly, and, if possible, the 
necessary influence at court ; and the actual projector or in- 
ventor, who undertakes to furnish his patron with various 
projects of his own device. For Jonson's satire of the pro- 
jector, see Sir Pohtick Would-be in The Fox, and Merecraft 
in The Devil is an Ass. For a discussion of the monopoly- 
system, see W. S. Johnson's edition of The Devil is an Ass, 
Introduction, p. Iviii. The phrase. Surveyor of the Projects 
generall, means the examiner or supervisor of the royal 
patents and monopolies. 

4. 6. 19. a right hand. For the use of right, meaning, as 
applied to persons, 'judging, thinking or acting in accordance 
with truth,' see The Staple of News {Wks. 5. 225) : 

P. jun. Whence have you this news ? 
Fit. From a right hand, I assure you. 



ACT rv] Explanatory Notes 189 

4. 6. 26. Noble Parson Palate, 

Thou shalt be a marke advanc't : here's a peece. 

' Here is a string of puns : the mark {12s. 4d.) added to the 
nohle (6s. 8d.) made up the piece,' — G. See also the Glos- 
sary. 

4. 6. 41. a spic'd excuse. For the use of spiced in the sense 
of over-nice in matters of conscience, see Chaucer, Prologue 
525-6 : 

He wayted after no pompe and reverence, 
Ne maked him a spyced conscience. 

Also Bartholomew Fair {Wks. 4. 364) : 

Quar. I remember that too ; out of a scruple he took, 
that, in spiced conscience, those cakes he made, were 
served to bridals, may-poles, morrices, and such profane 
feasts and meetings. 

4. 6. 47. Doe you heare. Sir ? Here is an opportunity 
for stage-business, the ejaculation which Palate is supposed 
to have uttered being left to the actor. 

4. 6. 48. By an unusual accent the verse may be scanned 
as regular ; 

No, no, I it mat | ters not. | Can you | thinke Sir 

4. 6. 51. a Poesie. ' It was formerly the custom to engrave 
mottoes or posies upon wedding, betrothal and other rings, 
and books of these mottoes were published. One of these. 
Love's Garland, appeared in 1624, and again in 1674. In the 
latter year was also published Cupid's Posies for Bracelets, 
Handkerchers, and Rings, with Scarf es. Gloves, and other things : 

Written by Cupid on a day 

When Venus gave me leave to play. 

The lover sheweth his intent 

By gifts that are with posies sent. 

— Wheatley, Every Man In p. 159. 

Jonson alludes to this custom in Every Man In {Wks. i. 51) ; 
Bartholomew Fair {Wks. 4. 424) ; and Cynthia's Revels {Wks. 

2.358)- 

4. 7. 4. would. Requires to (see Abbott, § 329). 

N2 



igo The Magnetic Lady [ACT rv 

4.7.5. shall. Must (see Abbott, § 315). 

4. 7. II. the Peace maker. Kee. The Pease-dresser. 

For Pease-dresser, see the Glossary. Jonson made a similar 
pun on peace and pease in Every Man Out {Wks. 2. 2. 127) : 

Mad. Now pease, and not peace, feed that life, whose 
head hangs so heavily over a woman's manger ! 

4. 7. 30. a Secjretary Landresse. See the Glossary, s. v. 
Secretary. 

4. 7. 33. make your Merkat. For the phras , to make 
merkat, see the Glossary, s. v. Merkat. 

4. 7. 35. At Granam's Crosse? Cross was sometimes used 
in the sense of market-cross, a monument in the form of a 
cross occupying a central position in a town or village, used 
as a centre for maikets, meetings, proclamations, etc. Why 
Granam's Cross, I do not know ; possibly for the humorous 
connotation of granam or granddam. 

4. 7. 36—8. the Deputie . . . out. The deputy in the City of 
London is ' a member of the Common Council, who acts 
instead of an alderman in his absence.' — NED. The alder- 
man, in English and Irish cities and boroughs, is ' a magistrate 
next in dignity to the mayor ; properly in London, the chief 
officer of a ward.' — NED. Questman, i. ' One who laid 
informations, and made a trade of petty law suits.' 2. 'Also 
a juryman, a person regularly impanelled to try a case.' 
— Nares. 

4. 7. 44. apparences. See the Glossary ; and cf . Chaucer's 
Franklin's Tale 411— 3 : 

For I am siker that ther be sciences. 
By whiche men make diverse apparences 
Swiche as thise subtile tregetoures pleye. 

4. 7. 45. these shop-lights. These theatre-lights. See 
note on Ind. i. 

4. 7. 56. For the metre, see note on i. 2. 47. 

No more ( rehears | als ; Re | peti | tions 

4. 7. 57. The more wee stirre (you know 

The Proverbe, and it signifies a) stink. 



ACT IV] Explanatory Notes 191 

Hazlitt, Eng. Prov., p. 431 : ' The more you stir a turd, the 
worse it will stink.' 

4. 7. 59. What's done, and dead, let it be buried. Cf. 
Shakespeare, Macbeth 3. 2. 12 : 

' Things without all remedy 
Should be without regard : what's done is done.' 

Idem 5. I. 75 : 

' What's done cannot be undone.' 

4. 8. 2. ring the Bels. Besant, London in the Time of the 
Tudors, pp. 171— 2 : ' All day long the bells were ringing — ' 
'twas a city of bells. They rang from cathedral and parish 
church ; from monastery and nunnery ; from college of priests 
and from chapel and from spital. They rang for festivals and 
fasts ; for pageants and ridings ; for births and deaths ; for 
marriages and funerals ; for the election of City officers ; for 
the King's birthday ; for the day and the hour ; they rang in 
the baby ; they rang out the passing soul ; they rang merrily 
in honour of the bride ; they rang for work to begin and for work 
to cease ; the streets echoed the ringing of bells all day long ; 
for miles round London you could hear with the singing of the 
larks the ringing of the bells.' 

4. 8. 13. a Sonne, and Heire, That shall inherit nothing. 
' In English law a bastard still retains certain disabilities. 
His rights are only such as he can acquire ; for civilly he can 
inherit nothing, being looked upon as the son of nobody, and 
sometimes called filius nullius, sometimes filius populi. . . . 
If there be no other claimant upon a inheritance than such 
illegitimate child, it escheats to the lord.' — Encycl. Brit. 

4. 8. 15. For the metre, see note on 2. 4. 16. 

From me | at least. | I come | t' invite | your Ladiship 
4. 8. 16. witnesse. A godmother, or sponsor at a baptism; 
a Puritanical term. Cf. Bartholomew Fair {Wks. 4. 364) : 

Lit. Yes, sir ; Zeal-of-the-land Busy. 

Winw. How ! what a name's there ! 

Lit. O they have all such names, sir ; he was witness 
for Win here, — they will not be call'd god- 
fathers — and named her Win-the-fight. 



192 The Magnetic Lady [ACT rv 

4. 8. 17. And give it a home-spoone, and a treene dish. 

' Horn spoons fifty years ago were in universal use among 
Scottish farmers and cottagers. Treen-dish was a wooden 
bowl.' — C. 

4. 8. 18. Bastard, and Beggars badges. Besant's London, 
p. 371 : ' Early in the sixteenth century the City of London 
began to pass regulations against vagrants. They forbade 
able-bodied vagrants to beg and citizens to give money to 
unlicensed beggars : in other words, they revived and enforced 
the old laws. Great strictness was ordered. Vagrants had 
the letter V fastened on their breasts, and were driven through 
Cheapside to the music of a basin ringing before them. 
, . . There was also an officer appointed, called " Master and 
Chief Avoyder and Keeper out of this City and the liberties 
of the same all the mighty vagabonds and beggars and all 
other suspected persons, except such as wear upon them the 
badge of the city." ' 

The laws against the parents of illegitimate children were 
as severe. Nicholls, History of the English Poor Law i. 165—6 : 
' The 18 Elizabeth, cap. 3, is declared to be enacted " For 
some better Explanation, and for some needful Addition to 
the Statute concerning the Punishment of Vagabonds and 
Relief of the Poor, made in the 14th year of the Queen's 
Majesty's Reign." And " First, concerning bastards, be- 
gotten and born out of lawful matrimony (an offence against 
God's law and man's law), the said bastards being now left 
to be kept at the charge of the parish where they were born, 
to the great burthen and defrauding of the relief of the impo- 
tent aged true poor of the same parish, and to the evil example 
and encouragement of lewd life." Justices are therefore 
directed to take order for the punishment of the mother and 
reputed father of every such bastard child, as well as for the 
better relief of every such parish, in part or in all; and also 
for the keeping of every such bastard child, by charging the 
mother or reputed father with the payment of money weekly, 
or other needful sustentation, in such wise as they shall think 
meet.' 

4. 8. 23. For the metre, see notes on i. 3. 41 ; i. 2. 9. 



ACT iv] Explanatory Notes 193 

What compa [ ny of | Mankind [ would owne | they 
brother ; hood, 
4. 8. 32. The verse may be scanned as follows : 
I know I not what | I shall | doe. Come | in friends : 

4. 8. 38. This apparent alexandrine may be made regular 
by slurring one of the two extra syllables, see note on 4.8.23. 

Your vow I ed friend, | and serv | ant ; comes | to 

sup : with you, 

4. 8. 40. The i is sometimes pronounced in such words 
as special, partial, &c. (Abbott, § 479). 

That spec | iall | respect, | and fa | vour from | you, 

4. 8. 53. For the metre, see note on 2. 4. 16. 

Restore | your Ladi | ships qui | et ? ren | der then 

4. 8. 63. Tell-troth. NED. defines this as ' a veracious or 
candid person' ; but the context, as well as several of the 
examples cited in NED., warrants the definition as ' informer ; 
unscrupulous political news-gatherer.' 

Cf. the following from NED. : 
' 1580 H. Gifford Gillif lowers (1875) 147 : 

Is not Tom teltroath everywhere, 
A busie cockcombe deem(d)e ? 

' 1700. Astray tr. Saavedra-Faxardo, I. 345 : 

Would these Tell-truths be guided by Prudence . . . 
a Prince would more value Truth. 

' 1809—10 Coleridge Friend VI (1865) 27 : 

Tell-truths in the service of falsehood we find 
everywhere.' 

Also, in The Stationer's Register (Arber), there is this item, 
dated September 20, 1633 : ' Thomas Lambert. Entred for his 
Copy a Balled called a Dialogue between Tom Tell Troth and 



194 The Magnetic Lady [act rv 

Robyn Conscience.' But the strongest evidence that the 
above meaning was the one Jonson had in mind is the passage, 
2. 6. 121— 31. 

4. 8. 64. For the metre, see note on i. i. 81. 

What's she | that I | call Neice | then ? Polish | es Daugh ter ; 

4. 8. 72. As true it is. Lady, Lady, i' th' song. As Gifford 
points out, this is taken from The Ballad of Constant Susanna, 
a stanza of which is quoted in Percy's Reliques i. 204 : 

There dwelt a man in Babylon 
Of reputation great by fame ; 
He took to wife a faire woman, 
Susanna she was callde by name : 
A woman fair and vertuous ; 

Lady, Lady: 
Why should we not of her learn thus 
To live godly ? 

Sir Toby sings a scrap of this ballad in Twelfth Night 2. 3. 80. 
4. 8. 80. For the metre, see notes on i. i. 81 ; 4. 8. 38. 

Ere I I beleeve | it. For | the pos | sibil ity, 

4. 8. 81. For the metre, see note on 4. 8. 40. 

I leave | to tri | aU. Truth | shaU speake | it selfe. 

4. Ch. 4. nor is it in your office to be troubled or perplexed 
with it, but to sit still, and expect. Cf . Every Man Out {Wks. 
2. 116) : ' But I wonder, what engine he will use to bring the 
rest out of their humours ! Cor. That will appear anon, 
never preoccupy your imagination withal. Let your mind 
keep company with the scene still, which now removes itself 
from the country to the court.' 

5. 1. 12. They burnt old shoes. Goose-feathers, Assafoetida, 
A few home shavings, with a bone, or two. 

The materials burnt were such as would produce a pungent 
odor, like that of ammonia. I have not found any parallel 
passages in my reading of the early drama, but I have no 
doubt that such passages could be found. That this method 
of reviving persons who swoon was something of a custom 



ACT v] Explanatory Notes 195 

is show nalso by a similar passage in Smollett's Humphrey 
Clinker, p. 20 : ' By this time the company began to hold their 
noses ; but the doctor, without taking the least notice of this 
signal, proceeded to show that many fetid substances were 
not only agreeable but salutary ; such as asafoetida, and other 
medicinal gums, resins, roots, and vegetables, over and aboue 
burnt feathers, tan-pits, candle-snuffs, &c.' 

5. I. 16. Vrinall-Judgement. Professional judgment. Doc- 
tors diagnosed disease by examination of the urine ; see 
Bourne, Scatalogic Rites of all Nations, chap. 40. This 
chapter is caUed Urinoscopy, or Diagnosis by Urine. 

5. I. 25. For the metre, see notes on i. 2. 9 ; i. i. 28. 

But in I a toy ; | Squire Needle, | comes i' | my nodle now. 

5. 2. I. For the metre, see note on 3. 4. 62. 

O ! gi' I you joy | Madam | oisell | e Com : passe ! 

5.2.2. You are his Whirle-poole now. I find it impossible 
to give an adequate paraphrase of this metaphor. As Jonson 
suggests the hospitality and graciousness of the mistress of 
the house by the name Loadstone, so he insinuates an idea 
of the fascination which Pleasance exerts over Compass by 
comparing her to a whirlpool which draws him irresistibly. 

5. 2. 2. all to be married. See line 12, the variant to line 
12, and the note on i. Ch. 21. 

5. 2. 10. Ember-weeke ! See the Glossary. 

5. 2. 18. foure-pound Beaver hat. See the note on 3. 3. 61. 

5. 2. 20. Cristall Spectacles. Crystal glass is that which 
has a very high degree of transparency. Rock crystal was 
used in magic art. 

5. 2. 23. silver Bels to single. Golden or silver bells were 
sometimes given as the prize in races or other contests. 

5. 2. 26. For the metre, see note on i. 2. 47. 

She does | deserve | as man | y pen | sions, 



196 The Magnetic Lady [act v 

5. 3. 3. For the metre, see note on i. 2. 32. 

To chaf I ed Mas | ter Prac | tise. Who | would thinke 

5. 3. 14. And make your profits of. Iro. Which are (in- 
deed) 
The ends of a gown'd man. 

See 5. 3. 24 ; also 2. Ch. 4, and note. 
5. 3. 26. And will save charges 

Of Coaches, Vellute Gownes, and cut-worke Smocks. 

The extravagance of the age, and, on account of it, the in- 
commodity of a wife, were often satirized. Stubbes gives 
three chapters (3—5) to the extravagance of dress in England. 
For an actual letter sent by a bride to her husband, see Gif- 
ford's Massinger, 4. 43—4 : ' " Alsoe, I will have 3 horses for 
my owne saddle, that none shall dare to lend or borrowe ; 
none lend but I, none borrowe but you. Alsoe, I would have 
two gentlewomen, least one should be sicke, or have some other 
lett. Alsoe beleeve yt, it is an undecent thing for a gentle- 
women to stand mumpinge alone, when God hath blessed 
their lord and lady w^^ a greate estate. Alsoe, when I ride 
a huntinge or a hawkeinge, or travayle from one house to 
another, I will have them attendinge ; soe for either of those 
said woemen, I must and will have for either of them a horse. 
Alsoe, I will have 6 or 8 gentlemen ; and I will have my twoe 
coaches, one lyned with velvett to myselfe, w^^ ^ very fayre 
horses, and a coache for my woemen, lyned w^h sweete 
cloth, one laced w^h gold, the other w^^ scarlett, and laced 
with watched lace and silver, w^h ^ good horses. Alsoe, I 
will have twoe coachmen, one for my own coache, the other for 
my woemen. Alsoe, att any tyme when I travayle, I will 
be allowed not only carroches, and spare horses for me and my 
women, but I will have such carry adgs, as shal be fittinge for 
all orderly ; not pestringe my things wth my woemens, nor 
theirs w^^ either chambermayds, or theirs w^^ ^yase maids. 
Alsoe, for laundresses, when I travayle I will have them sent 
away before w*!^ the carry adgs to see all safe, and the chamber- 
mayds I will have goe before w^^ the groomes, that a chamber 
may be ready, sweete and cleane. Alsoe, for that yt it unde- 



ACT v] Explanatory Notes i.()'j 

cent to croud upp myself w^^ my gentl. usher in my coache, 
I will have him to have a convenyent horse to attend me either 
in city or country. And I must have 2 footemen. And my 
desire is, that you defray all the chardges for me." ' 

5- 3- 33- an Action of Choke-baile. See the Glossary. 

5- 3- 35- The metrical irregularity of this line may be ex- 
plained by the custom of placing ejaculations out of the regu- 
lar verse (Abbott, § 512). 

5. 4. 14. This verse is irregular, being a tetrameter. 

5. 4. 16. For the metre, see note on 1.3. 16. 

But here has | a noise | beene since, | she was | delive r'd 
5. 4. 21. For metre, see note to i. 3. 16. 
The in | firme man, | I was sent | for, Squi j re Need : le ? 

5. 5. 2. dousets. ' This term of venery occurs again in 
the Sad Shepherd, p. 251, and in the Gipsies Metamor- 
phoses, vol. VII, p. 383.' — C. 

5.5.8. A fine she spirit it is, an Indian Mag-pie. In these 
scenes (5 and 7), ridiculous from the modern point of view, 
Jonson takes the opportunity to satirize a number of 
superstitions ; demoniacal possession in the case of Needle ; the 
pretended power of exorcism of the doctor ; and the belief 
that birds could act as the medium of spiritual revelation — a 
survival, doubtless, of the idea of the transmigration of souls. 
Preposterous as the situation seems to us, it would not to 
an age that took seriously astrology, alchemy, witchcraft, and 
all sorts of magic. For a similar case, take the following ac- 
count of treasure finding quoted in the Gentleman's Magazine 
Library, pp. 199—200 : ' " Many attempts have been made 
by poor workmen, who frequently left their daily employ, 
to discover money supposed to be hid near this chapel, without 
success ; it was therefore proposed, that some person should 
lodge in the chapel, for a night, to obtain preternatural 
direction respecting it. Two farmers, at length, complied 
with my wishes, and ventured one night, about nine, aided 
by strong beer, to approach the hallowed walls : they tremb- 
led exceedingly at the sudden appearance of a white owl, that 



198 The Magnetic Lady [act V 

flew from a broken window of the building, with the solemn 
message, that considerable treasures lay hid in certain fields 
of the barton ; that if they would carefully dig there, and 
diligently attend the labourers, to prevent purloining, they 
would undoubtedly find them. The farmers attended to the 
important notice, instantly employed many workmen in the 
fields described, and I was lately informed had discovered the 
valuable deposit." The folly and superstition which so strongly 
mark this story should have passed unnoticed, had not the 
author affected, in other parts of the work, to possess a mind 
superior to the prejudices which influence the great bulk of 
mankind.' 

Shakespeare also satirized the belief that a human soul 
could inhabit a bird {Twelfth Night 4. 2. 52—62) : 

Clo. What is the opinion of Pythagoras concerning 
Wilde-fowle ? 

Mai. That the soule of our grandam, might happily 
inhabite a bird. 

Clo. What thinkst thou of his opinion ? 

Mai. I think nobly of the soule, and no way aprove 
his opinion. 

Clo. Fare thee well : remaine thou still in darknesse, 
thou shalt hold th' opinion of Pythagoras, ere I will 
allow of thy wits, and feare to kill a Woodcocke, lest 
thou dispossesse the soule of thy grandam. 

For popular superstitions respecting the magpie, see Brand's 
Popular Antiquities 3. 214—6. The three chief birds of omen 
are the owl, the raven, and the magpie. There is a super- 
stition that the chattering of magpies betokens the approach 
of guests or strangers to one's house. Of the belief that human 
souls could inhabit magpies, there is an example in Ovid's 
Metamorphoses 5. 293 : ' The Pierides, the nine daughters 
of Pierus, King of Emathia, having challenged the Muses 
to a contest of song and suffered defeat, were changed by them 
into magpies.' Also, a recent literary use of the same tra- 
dition is found in John Galsworthy's allegory of Sacred and 
Profane Love. 

5. 5. 17. i' the Clothing, or the Bevy. Mrs. Parrot was a 
member of one of the Livery Companies or guilds of London. 



ACT v] Explanatory Notes 199 

For accounts of the clothing of the companies and other facts 
of interest, see Stow's Survey of London (Kingsford's ed., 2, 
188—95) ; Herbert's History of the Twelve Livery Companies ; 
and Heath's Some Account of the Grocer's Company. 

5. 5. 21. Doo-little Lane. ' Now called Knightrider Court, 
City, a passage of half a dozen houses between Carter Lane and 
Knightrider Street.' — ^Wheatley and Cunningham i. 510. 

5. 5. 26. For the metre, see note on i. i. 61. 

You are i a foule | mouth'd, purg | ing, ab | surd Doct '■ or ; 

5- 5- 30. your plaister o£ Oathes. Medicine was involved 
in those days with alchemy, astrology, magic, and all sort of 
superstitious practices ; cf. 3. 2. 32 : 

Com. The doctor is an ass then, if he say so. 
And cannot with his conjuring names . . . 
Cure a poor wench's falling in a swoon. 

According to Compass, the physicians still had faith in charms, 
incantations, and oaths. For the relation of medicine to 
various superstitions, see Hathaway, edition of The Alchemist, 
Introduction, pp. 49—60 ; and W. G. Black's Folk Medicine. 
5. 5. 36. Bet'lem. Betlem or Bedlem is a corruption of 
Bethlehem. The hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem was founded 
in 1246 by Simon Fitz Mary, one of the sheriffs of London, as 
a refuge for the insane. 

5. 7. There is a similarity between this scene and The 
Puritane Widdow ; in both the pretended conjurers discover 
treasure which they themselves have concealed. 

5- 7- 5~ii- It . . . rest. The old anatomists divided the 
brain into three ventricles ; the third ventricle, the cerebellum, 
connected the brain with the spinal marrow and the rest of 
the body. Intoxication or frenzy was caused by fumes rising 
from the stomach and collecting in the brain ; cf . Macbeth 
I. 7. 64 : 

When Dimcan is asleep, . . . 
his two chamberlains 
Will I with wine and wassail so convince, 
That memory, the warder of the brain. 
Shall be a fume, and the receipt of reason 
A limbec only. 



200 The Magnetic Lady [ACT V 

Also the following passages from Burton's Anat.Mel. i. 252—4: 
'Amongest herbs to be eaten, I find gourds, cowcumbers, 
coleworts, melons disallowed, but especially cabbage. It 
causeth troublesome dreams, ans sends up black vapours 
to the brain. . . . Crato, lib. 2, consil 11, disallows all 
roots. . . . Magninus is of Crato's opinion, they trouble the 
mind, sending gross fumes to the brain, make men mad. ... All 
pulse are naught, beans, pease, . . . they fill the brain . . . with 
gross fumes.' Anat. Mel. i. 474: ' And from these crudities 
windy vapours ascend up to the brain, which trouble the ima- 
gination, and cause fear, sorrow, dullness, heaviness, many 
terrible conceits and chimaeras ... If it (head-melancholy) 
proceed from dryness of the brain, then their heads will be 
light, vertiginous, and they apt to wake, & to continue whole 
months together without sleep.' 

5. 7. 7. For the metre, see note on 3. 3. 43. 

That are | melan | cholicke, | to worke | at first, 

5. 7. 13. telling mysteries, that must be heard. Somnam- 
bulists were believed to possess prophetic or magical power. 
The following passage is taken from Ennemoser's History of 
Magic I. 71 : 'In inflammatory diseases, particularly those 
of the brain, prophetic delirium often takes place. De Seze 
considers it an undisputed fact that in apoplexy and inflamma- 
tion of the brain ecstatic states manifest themselves, and that 
not only new ideas are formed but a new power of looking 
into the future. Fern el tells us of a patient who in sleep spoke 
Latin and Greek, which he was unable to do when awake ; 
he also told the physicians their thoughts, and laughed at their 
ignorance.' This book contains a considerable list of similar 
cases recorded by physicians. 

5. 7. 14. sewing pillows. Cf. Ezekiel 13. 18, and NED., 
s. V. pillow, I. d. It is interpreted: 'to give a sense of 
false security.' 

5. 7. 32. For the metre, see note on i. 3. 16. 
My Neice is | on my La | dies side : | they'll find | her there. 



ACT v] Explanatory Notes 201 

5. 7. 36. This line can hardly be forced into metrical form. 
Here, he | is come ! | sooth ; and | have all | out of him. 

5. 7. 37. How doe you Lady-bird P Cf. Romeo and Juliet 
I. 3. 3 : ' What, lamb ! what, lady-bird ! ' 

5. 7. 42. Almond £or Panat. This is an allusion to one of 
the latest of the Martin Mar-Prelate pamphlets, which has 
been attributed to Nash, Lyly, and others. See the Cam- 
bridge History of English Literature 3. 450—1. 

5. 7. 51. a Citie Lady too, 0' the streight waste ? Corsets 
were then in fashion. Cf. Gosson, Pleasant Quippes for Up- 
start New-fangled Gentlewomen (1595) : 

These privie coates, by art made strong 

with bones, and past, with such like ware. 
Whereby their backe and sides grow long, 
and now they harnest gallants are ; 
Were they for use against the foe 
Our dames for Amazones might goe. 

Also The Poetaster {Wks. 2. 440) : ' This strait-bodied city 
attire, I can tell you, will stir a courtier's blood, more than the 
finest loose sacks the ladies use to be put in.' 

5. 7. 58. lie dense him with a pill. For Jonson's satire of 
the physician's pretended power of exorcising spirits, see note 
on 5- 5- 8. 

5. 7. 67. Machaon, Podalirius, Esculapius. ' Machaon, a 
celebrated Greek physician, a son of Jisculapius. He is 
said to have served as surgeon at the siege of Troy, and, 
according to some authors, was one of the Greek heroes 
inclosed in the wooden horse. See Virgil's .^neid, book ii, 
I. 263.' — Lippincott's Pron. Biog. Did. Vol. 2. 

' Podaleirius, a son of Asclepius and Epione orArsinoe, and 
a brother of Machaon, along with whom he led the Thessalians 
of Tricca against Troy (Horn. II. IL 729, &c. ; Apollod. iii. 
10. 8 ; Paus. iv. 31. 9). He was, like his brother, skilled in the 
medical art.' — Smith, Diet. Gr. & Rom. Biog. & Myth. Vol. 3. 

' .iEsculapius, . . . the god of medicine, supposed to have 
been the son of Apollo and Coronis. He is said to have raised 
men from the dead, so that Jupiter, fearing lest the realms of 



202 The Magnetic Lady [ACT v 

Pluto should become depopulated, struck him with thunder. 
After his death he was translated to heaven. He is usually 
represented as a venerable old man with a flowing beard. 
Hygieia (i. e. " Health ") is said to have been a daughter of 
^sculapius.'— Lippincott. Vol. i. 

5. 7. 68. a golden beard, ... as he had. ^Esculapius was 
represented in sculpture, generally with a beard. See Pauly- 
Wissowa, Real-Encyclopddie, Asklepios. Vol. 2, p. 1690. 

5. 7. 82. 'Twill purchase the whole Bench 0! Aldermanity. 
Cf. The Staple of News (Wks. 5. 246) : 

Tat. He has rich ingredients in him, I warrant you, 
if they were extracted ; a true receipt to make an alder- 
man, an he were well wrought upon, according to art. 

Expect. I would fain see an alderman in chimia, 
that is, a treatise of aldermanity truly written ! 

Cen. To shew how much it differs from urbanity. 

Mirth. Ay, or humanity. 

Jonson's poor opinion of the London aldermen may have been 
due in part to differences of political view ; see 3.5. 158—66, 
and note. 

5. 7. 86. Merchants-Taylors-hall. ' Merchant Taylors ' Hall 
in Threadneedle Street, a little beyond Finch Lane, . . . de- 
signed in 1844 by Samuel Beechcroft, the Hall of the Merchant 
Tajdors, the seventh of the Twelve Great Livery Com- 
panies of London. . . . The banquets have maintained their 
fame down to the present day. The Merchant Taylors' 
is the great Conservative, as the Fishmongers' is the great 
Whig,Company, and in our own day its banquets have afforded 
to the leaders of the party the opportunities for important 
political statements and explanations.' — ^Wheatley and Cun- 
ningham, London Past and Present, Vol. 2. 

5. 8. 9. For the metre, see notes on i. 2. 9 ; 1. 1. 28. 

He drives ! anoth : er | way, now, | as I | would have : him. 

5. 8. 13—16. That . . . night ! Sir Moth's anticipated grati- 
fication of his avarice has so inflamed his imagination that he 
attributes as real experiences to Needle such escapades as the 
doctor enumerated in 5. 7. 15—18 as incident to frenzied people. 



ACT v] Explanatory Notes 203 

5. 8. 14. Waltham Forrest. What is now called Epping 
Forest, near Waltham Abbey, or Waltham Holy Cross, 
Essex. In early times it was caUed the Forest of Essex. 
' As late as the middle of the 17th century, Thomas Fuller, 
who lived here many years, wrote : " On the one side the town 
itself hath large and fruitful meadows ... on the other side 
a spacious forest spreads itself, where fourteen years since 
(1640) one might have seen whole herds of red and fallow deer." 
— Thome, Handbook to the Environs of London 2. 651. 

5. 8. 22. For the metre, see note on 3. 5. 156. In this 
verse a pause apparently takes the place of a short syllable. 

A Sui I tor to I your Neice ? | —Yes. | You were 

5. 8. 32. For the metre, see notes to 4. 8. 40 ; i. 2. 32. 

And claimes | it. You | doe heare | he's mar | ried ? 

5. 8. 39. For the metre, see note on i. 3. 16. 
And yet | sheis not | heard of. i Be she nere | heard of, 
5. 8. 51. For the metre, see notes on 3. 5. 156 ; 3. 3. 43. 

You shall I have time, | Sir, to 1 triumph | on him, 
5. 10. I. For the metre, see notes on i. i. 81; 3. 4. 62. 

Helpe, helpe | for Chari | ty ; Sir | Moath In | terest 

5. 10. 14. A pause apparently takes the place of a short 
syllable. 

All starres | were re | trograde. | — I' | the name 

5. 10. 14. All starres were retrograde. The connection of 
medicine and astrology was close. Burton, in his Anatomy of 
Melancholy, i. 235—9, writes an account of the stars as a cause 
of melancholy. Astrology was a favorite subject of satire to 
Jonson and other dramatists. See note on 2. 2. 50. 

5. 10. 34. For the metre, see note on i. 3. 41. 

And Dame | Placentia 1 his wife. | The Ac | tion's ent' ; red, 

o 



204 ^^^ Magnetic Lady [ACT V 

5. 10. 45. You must to prison, Sir, 

Vnless you find Baile the Creditor likes. 

Laws giving the creditor power over the person of the debtor 
were introduced in to England in Plantagenet times, and sur- 
vived till well on into the nineteenth century. See the article. 
Debt, in Palgrave, Did. Pol. Econ., and in Larned's History 
for Ready Reference. Vol. i. 

5. 10. 50. at mine owne apperill. This unusual term Jon- 
son employed also in A Tale of a Tub {Wks. 6. 148) : 

Now, don constable 
I am to charge you in her majesty's name. 
As you will answer it at your apperil, 

5. 10. 62. bid an Offring. This was evidently a custom at 
the wedding of poor people ; cf . Tale of a Tub (Wks. 6. 127) : 

I'll bid more to the bason and the bride-ale. 
Although but one can bear away the bride. 

5. 10. 74. The Law is plaine ; if it were heaid to cry. It 

will be recalled how this law figured in George Eliot's Adam 
Bede. 
5. 10. 83. The truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth. 

This, of course, is taken from the language of the law-courts. 
5. 10. 91. For the metre, see note on i. i. 28. 

By this I meere false- 1 stick Squi | re Need | le, but 

5. 10. 112. A double breake. Farmer and Henley define 
break as ' a collection (of money) . . . more generally applied to 
a pause in street performances to enable the hat to be passed 
around.' 

5. 10. 123. nor the purchase. The purchase of his friend- 
ship ; see 4. 3. 36-47. 

5. 10. 134. For the metre, see note on 1.2. 47. 

In re | concile | ment. When | the por | tion 

5. 10. 139. And make him Lord of me, and all my fortunes. 

A partial excuse for the precipitate match of Lady Loadstone 
and Ironside may be found in the fact that he is a soldier : see A n 



ACT v] Explanatory Notes 205 

Essay of Valour (Morley, p. loi) : ' And to come nearer home, 
nothing draws a woman hke to it, for valour toward men is 
an emblem of an ability toward women, a good quality signi- 
fies a better. Nothing is more behoveful for that sex, for 
from it they receive protection, and we free from the danger 
of it ; nothing makes a shorter cut to obtaining, for a man 
of arms is always void of ceremony, which is the wall that 
stands betwixt Pyramus and Thisbe, that is, man and woman.' 

5. Ch. 8. For the metre, see note on i. i. 61. 
And pre | fers that, | 'fore all | the Peo | pies hands. 



O2 



GLOSSARY 

In preparing this Glossary, the New English Dictionary has, where 
available, been my chief authority ; the Century Dictionary, Schmidt's 
Shakespeare-Lexicon, and Nares' Glossary have also furnished con- 
siderable aid; for other lexicons used, see the Bibliography. 

A dagger before a word or definition indicates that the word or 
definition is obsolete; parallel lines, that a word has never been 
naturaUzed; an interrogation-mark, that the sense is doubtful. 



A, prep. [A worn-down procUtic 
form of O. E. prep, an, o«.] In. 

3- 5- 191- 
Abate, v. fTo put down, to do 

away with. (Fig.) 3. 3. 86. 
Abuse, V. jTo impose upon, cheat, 

deceive, i. 6. 26; 3. 6. 28; 

4. 4. 44. 
Accidental!, a. Incidental, sub- 
sidiary. 3. Ch. 10. 
Accoast, V. To make up to, and 

speak to. 2. 4. 23. 
Accompt, V. [Form of account.'] 

Arch. 2. 5. 67. 
Acqnaintance, coll. n. Persons 

with whom one is acquainted. 

1. I. 16. 

Adyance, v. fTo benefit. 4. 6. 
27. 

Advise, v. fTo consider, ponder. 
3- 3- 19- 

AHectPd, ppl. a. Disposed, incli- 
ned. 2. 6. 126. 

Afore, prep. Before, in front of. 
Arch, or dial. i. 2. 47. 

Again, prep. Opposite to. fs- i. 

30- 
Against, conj. adv. ? By, before. 

2. 3- 38- 

Against, prep. ?In preparation 

for. 2. 3. 38 
Aldermanity, n. [In humorous 

imitation of ' humanity.'] 5. 7. 

82. 
fAIlay, n. Admixture of some- 



thing that diminishes the value. 
3. I. 22. 

Amber-grii, n. A secretion of 
the sperm-whale used in per- 
fumery. 3. 2. 4 

Amphiboly, n. Ambiguous dis- 
course ; a sentence which may 
be construed in two distinct 
ways. 2. 3. 33. 

Ana-sarca, n. Path. A dropsical 
affection producing a very 
puffed appearance of the flesh. 

2. 3- 15. 

And, conj. If. i. 4. 8; 2. 3. 8. 

Animadverting, ppl. a. Express- 
ing censure or blame. 2. 6. 122. 

Anon, adv. Immediately, straight 
way, at once. Ind. 86 ; i Ch. 
42. 

f Apparance, n. [Form of ^appa- 
rence]. The earlier form of the 
sb. answering to adj. ' appa- 
rent,' which was subseq. re- 
fashioned as ' Appearance,' by 
assimilation to the vb. ' appe- 
ar.' ' Apparence ' survived, 
esp. in sense, which connected 
it more closely with ' apparent ' 
than 'appear.' — NED.; false 
show ; apparition. 4. 7. 44. 

Appeale, v. "^Law. To accuse of 
a crime which the accuser 
undertakes to prove. 5. 10. 68. 

fApperill, n. Peril, risk. 5. 10. 
50. 



Glossary 



Qxyj 



Appoint, V. I . To fix by appoint- 
ment the time or place of a 
meeting. Arch. 

1. To settle, arrange definitely. 

3- 3- 42; 

Apprehension, n. The anticipa- 
tion of what is still future ; 
chiefly of things adverse. 3. 5. 

143- 

Argument, n. The summary of 
the subject-matter of a book. 
Ind. 117; 5. 7. 23. 

As, adz;. fAs if. i. 7. 34. 35. 

As, conj. "["Result : That. Ind. 
107; I. I. 9; 2 Ch. 34, 36; 4. 3. 
43; 4. 8. 41. 

(Ascites, n. Path. Dropsy of the 
abdomen. 2. 3. 17. 

Assure, v. ^i. To convey pro- 
perty by deed. 5. 80. 59. 
^2. To make sure by marriage ; 
betroth or engage. 5. 10. 93. 

Attendance, n. -fThe action or 
condition of turning one's ener- 
gies to ; assiduous effort, i. 7. 5. 

Auditorie, Auditory, n. An audi- 
ence. Ind. 129; 3 Ch. 9. 

Avlse, «. {Foxvaol Advice. 'I'Le^a.X 
counsel, i. 7. 41. 

Ayiso, n. ^A motif ication, dis- 
patch, or formal advice, i. 7. 
41. 

Baggage, a. -j-Worthless. 3. 5. 69. 
Batchler, n. [Form of Bachelor.'^ 

A single woman. 2. 2. 20. 
Bate, V. [Form of bait.'] To set 

on dogs to bite and worry (an 

animal). Fig. To worry or 

torment; to harass, i. 5. 28. 
Bate, V. To make a reduction in, 

to lessen. 5. 19. 121. 
Baud, n. [Form of bawd.] A 

' go-between,' a pander. 2. 6. 

96; 4. 4. 2. 
Beagle, n. A small variety of 

hound, tracking by scent. Fig. 

use. 5. 5. I. 
Beget, V. "["I. To get, to acquire 

(usually by effort), i Ch. 19 ; 

2. 6. 127. 

2. To produce, occasion. 1. 1.66. 



Beholden, ppl. a. Obliged, in- 
debted. I. Ch. 53; 1. 3. 19; 

1. 4. 48. 
"f-Beholdingnesse, n. Obligation, 

indebtedness. 4. 2. 21. 

Being, ppl. a. Absol. Seeing, 
since. 2. 5. 30. 

Bencher, n. ' One of the senior 
members of the Inns of Court, 
who form for each Inn a self- 
elective body, managing its 
affairs, and possessing the pri- 
vilege of " calling to the bar." ' 
NED. 4. 2. 46. 

Beside, prep. "["Beyond the range 
or compass of; utterly apart 
from. (L. prceter). i. 5. 23. 

Betimes, adv. In good time, in 
due time. i. 2. 9. 

Betrothed, ppl. a. f Pledged, 
plighted. I. 6. 23. 

Bevy, n. A company of maidens 
or ladies. 5. 5. 17. 

Bird, n. A maiden, girl. [Con- 
fused often with ^burd, a poetic 
word for 'woman,' 'lady'; 
and with bride.] 2. 5. 78. 

Blacks, n. (pi.) Black clothing, 
especially that worn as a sign 
of mourning, i. 2. 22. 

Blade, n. i. A bravo. Hector; a 
fierce man. Arch. 2. 6. 147. 

2. A gallant; a fellow; gener- 
ally familiarly laudatory, so- 
metimes good-naturedly con- 
temptuous. 3. 5. 160. 

Blancks, n. [Form of Blanks.] 
Blank verse; esp. the iambic 
pentameter or unrimed heroic, 
the regular measure of English 
dramatic and epic poetry, i. 

2. 37- 

Blow, V. Said of fUes and other 
insects : To deposit their eggs. 
5- 7- 2. 

Blowne, ppl. a. Fig. Inflated 
with pride. Arch. 3. 5. 135. 

Bomb, n. [Form of bum.] Pro- 
tuberance, swelling. 2. 3. 20. 

Brace, n. A pair, a couple. Ind. 
51 ; 2. 6. 117; 4. 8. 43. 

Brake, n. A clump of bushes. 



208 



The Magnetic Lady 



brushwood, or briers. 5. 7. 

18. 
Brancht, ppl. a. i. Spread out, 

voluminous, i. 5. 22. 

f2. Divided, distributed, i. 5. 

22. 
Brave, adj. 1. Finely-dressed; 

showy. Arch. Ind. 30. 

2. A general epithet of admi- 
ration or praise. 2. i. 10; 4. 

2. 7. 
Bravery, n. -j-A gallant, a beau. 

2. 3. 71. 
Breake, w. [Form of break. '\ A 

collection of money. Slang. 

5. 10. 112. 

Breed, «. "[Birth, natal or racial 
origin, i Ch. 58. 

Breeding, vbl. n. Creating, cau- 
sing. 2. 6. 129. 

fBreeks, n. PI. of Breek. North 
Eng. and Sc. variant of Breech. 
A garment covering the loins 
and thighs. 5. 5. 2. 

Bring off, Phr. ' To bring away 
from (a position or condition) ; 
esp. by boat from a ship, 
wreck, the shore.' NED. 
Fig. To rescue, deliver, save. 
Arch. I. I. 38 ; 3. 6. 31. 

Bring on, Phr. jTo lead forward 
or on ; conduct. 3. 4. 29. 

Brooph, n. "I" A jewel, an ornam- 
ent of jewels. I. 7. 33. 

Brook, V. To endure, tolerate. 
T. 3. 27. 

Bruit, n. Noise, din, clamour. 
Arch. I. 6. 17. 

Buffon, n. [Form of Buffoon.] 
A comic actor, clown ; a jester. 
Arch. I. 2. 42. 

Bum, n. A child's word for 
drink. 4. 7. 9. 

Burden, n. [Confusion with Bour- 
don.] Accompaniment sung 
while the leading voice sang 
a melody.] Hence, refrain, 
gist, theme, leading idea. 2. 

6. 63. 

Buzz, V. To spread as a rumour, 
with whispering or busy talk. 
2. 6. 117. 



fBy-cliop, «. A bastard. 4. 7. 

24. 
By, o' the, Phr. i. •j'lncidentaUy, 

with little effort. 1. i. 67. 

2. "[As a matter of secondary 
or subsidiary importance, i. 
7. 69. 

3. As an addition on the side ; 
a minor item. 2. 6. 24. 

Cabinet, n. i. A case for the safe 
custody of jewels, letters, or 
other valuables. 
2. Politics : The council cham- 
ber. Play on these two mean- 
ings. I. 7. 45. 

Call, n. A roll-call ; the reading 
aloud of a list of names. 2.1.6. 

Callot, n. ' The coif worn on the 
wigs of our judges, or Serjeants 
at law.' G. I. 7. 68. 

Can, V. [O. E. cunnan, pres, Ind. 
can.] "[Trans. To know. i. 2. 
28; I. 5. 37. 

Caract, n. [Obs. Form of carat.] 
"[Fig. Estimate; value, i. i. 
44; I. 7. 38. 

Card, n. An instrument used to 
part, comb out, and set in 
order the fibres of wool, hemp, 
etc. Ind. 121. 

Carpet, n. A thick fabric, com- 
monly of wool, used to cover 
tables, beds, etc. 4. 8. 43. 

Carriage, n. "[Manner of con- 
ducting oneself socially. 1.1.6. 

Case, n. I. A state of matters 
relating to a particular person. 

1. 5. 60. 

2. Physical condition. Play on 
these two meanings. 2. 7. 10. 

Cassock, n. A long close-fitting 
frock or tunic worn by Anglican 
clergymen, i. 5. 22. 

Cast, V. "[To diagnose disease by 
inspection of. 3. 4. 67. 

IJCatastasis, n. ' The third part 
of the ancient drama ; being 
that wherein the intrigue is 
supported, carried on and heigh- 
tened till it be ripe for the 
unravelUng in the catastrophe.* 



Glossary 



209 



NED. from Chamber's Cycl. 

1. Ch. 10. 

Catastrophe, n. ' The change or 
revolution which produces the 
conclusion or final event of a 
dramatic piece.' (J) the de- 
nouement. I. Ch. 9 ; 4. Ch. 23. 

Catife, a. [Form of caitiff.] Base, 
mean, despicable. 4. 4. i. 

'Cause, conj. [An elhptic use of 
the noun for ' because.'] Obs. 
exc. dial. Because. 2. 2. 28. 

Cave, n. |A hollow place of any 
kind, a cavity. Ind. 28. 

Cawdle, n. [Form of caudle.] 
' A warm drink consisting of 
thin gruel, mixed with wine 
or ale, sweetened and spiced, 
given chiefly to sick people, 
esp. women in childbed." NED. 
4. 7. 7; 4. 7. 25; 5. 2. 16. 

Cellar, n. ^A case of bottles. 3. 

I- 37- 
Censure, n. Criticism. 2. Ch. 

54; I- I- 32. 

Censure, v. |To express judge- 
ment, criticise. Ind. 116; i 
Ch. I. 

Chance, n. Mishap ; accident. 
Arch. 4. 7. 21. 

Chant, V. iTo talk, or repeat a 
statement; to harp upon. 2. 

2. 2. 

Cheere, n. j"Entertaitment. i. 
2. 16. 

Chime, n. Fig. Accord, agree- 
ment, harmony. 2. 4. 35. 

fChoke-baile, n. 'An action rais- 
ing so great an issue as to pre- 
vent the possibility of bail 
being offered.' NED. 3. 3. 33. 

Cholericke, a. [Form of choleric] 
Hot-tempered, passionate, an- 
gry. I. I. 48. 

Choller, n. Anger, heat of tem- 
per. 3. 3. 79; 3. 5. 63. 

Chopping, a. Vigorous ; strapping 
4. 8. 8. 

Chuck, V. iTo chuckle, to laugh 
inwardly. 2. 3. 33. 

fCimini, n. pi. of Cimex. A bed- 
bug. 2. 6. 150. 



Civill, a. [Form of civil.] Well- 
bred ; ' polite.' 2. Ch. 32. 

Clap, n. I A stroke of misfor- 
tune, a sudden mishap. 4. 3. 7. 

Clap, V. Phr. To clap on : To 
urge on ; to applaude. 5. 10. 95. 

Clarke, n. [Obs. form, of clerk.] 

1. 2. 33; 2. 3. 52; 4. 6. 4. 
Clearly, adv. -j-Honestly, straight- 
forwardly, frankly. 2. 5. 4. 

Clerke, n. A clergyman, ecclesi- 
astic, cleric, i. i. 85. 

Clicket, n. fA latch-key. Fig. 
use. 4. 4. 18. 

Close, a. I. Close-fisted, stingy, 
penurious, i. 4. 62. 

2. Reserved, reticent, uncom- 
municative. I. 7. 25. 

3. Confined or restricted to a 
privileged few ; exclusive. 2. 
I. 12. 

4. Secret. 2. 5. 52; 3. 5. 164; 

5- 9- 15- 

Clot, «. Fig. A dull fellow, a 
Clod. Dial. i. 6. 26. 

Clothing, vbl. n. -fLivery, uni- 
form ; a Livery Company. 5. 

5- 17- 
Clout, n. A piece of cloth, etc. 

set on to mend anything ; a 

patch. Arch. & dial. 3. 4. 27. 
Clowne, n. An ignorant, ill-bred 

man. i. 6. 26. 
Colour, n. Fair pretence, pretext. 

3- 5- 35- 

Comminatory, a. Threatening, 
denunciatory, i. i. 49. 

Compasse, n. Moderate space, 
due limits. 3. Ch. 12. 

Complement, n. lObservance of 
ceremony in social relations. 

4- 3- 49- 

Conceit, n. ^A conception, idea, 
thought. Ind. 86. 

Conceive, v. To fancy, imagine, 
think. I. 2. 31. 

Conclude, v. j"To lead to a con- 
clusion, be conclusive. 3.5.128. 

Condemn, v. Phr. condemned to 
be: Accused of being, i. 4. 56. 

Confederacy, n. Conspiracy, col- 
lusion. 2. Ch. 59. 



2IO 



The Magnetic Lady 



Conjure, v. To bring about as 
by magic or supernatural in- 
fluence. 3. 2. 33. 

Conscience, n. "{"Reasonableness, 
understanding. Ind. 49. 

Consort, n. "[Company. 2. 6. 143. 

Constitution, n. Physical nature, 
vitality, i. i. 6. 

Containe, v. To govern ; keep 
under control. 5. 7. 47. 

Contumely, n. Insulting or offen- 
sively contemptuous language 
or treatment. 3. 3. 17. 

Convenient, a. "{"Suitable to the 
circumstances ; appropriate. 4. 
Ch. 25. 

Cope, n. A vestment of silk or 
other material resembhng a 
long cloak, made of a semi- 
circular piece of cloth, worn by 
ecclesiastics in processions, also 
at Vespers, and on some other 
occasions. Eccl. i. i. 86. 

Copie, n. [L. copia, abundance.] 
|A copious quantity. 2. i. 19. 

Corrant, n. [Form of courant.] 
"{"A message or messenger, i. 
7. 41. 

Correspondence, n. "{"Intercourse, 
communication of a secret na- 
ture. I. 7. 41. 

Corrier, n. [Form of currier.] 
One whose trade is the colour- 
ing ofl eather after it is tanned. 
3- 3- 62. 

Corroding, ppl. a. -j-Eating into; 
gnawing away. 4. 8. 28. 

Cosen, n. [Form of cousin.] A 
term of intimacy or friendship. 
3. 4. 20. 

Counsell, n. [Form of counsel.] 
A matter of confidence or se- 
cret. 5. 6. 2. 

Course, a. [Form of coarse.] 
Rude, uncivil, vulgar. 1.5.67. 

Cous'nage, n. [Form of Cose- 
nage.] Deception, fraud. 5. 
10. 109. 

Covey, n. A set or company of 
persons. Arch. 2. 6. 158. 

Cracked, ppl. a. Fig. Damaged, 
impaired. 5. i. 16. 



Crafty, a. Skilful, clever, inge- 
nious. I. 6. 24. 

Cranch, v. [Form of craunch.] 
To crush with the teeth ; to eat 
greedily, i. 4. 14. 

Crimpe, n. An obsolete game at 
cards. 2. 3. 25. 

Crosse, v. To thwart. 5. 8. 29. 

Cry, V. "{"To call for, demand 
loudly. 5. 6. 16. 

Cry up, Phr. To proclaim (a 
thing) to be excellent ; to extol. 

1. 7. 38; 4. 2. 12. 

Cryer, n. One appointed in a 
town or community to make 
public announcements. 5. 6. 

17- 

Cullice, n. ' A strong broth, made 
of meat, fowl, etc., boiled and 
strained ; used especially as a 
nourishing food for sick per- 
sons.' NED. 4. 7. 25. 

Cunning, a. Possessing knowl- 
edge or skill. 2. I. 13 ; 2. 2. 
41 ; 4. 3. 26. 

2. "{"Possessing supernatural 
power or skill. 5. 9. 17. 

Curious, a. "{"i. Excellent, choice, 
fine. I. 4. 29. 

•{"2. Minute in inquiry or dis- 
crimination, subtle. 4. 7. 46. 

Cut-worke, n. A kind of open- 
work embroidery or lace worn 
in the latter part of the i6th 
and in the 17'h cen. 5. 3. 27. 

Dainty, a. i. |Rare. i. 4. 16. 
2. f Excellent, choice, fine. i. 

4. 63; 2. 2. I ; 2. 3. 72. 
Damne, v. "{"To pronounce ad- 
verse judgment upon ; to ex- 
press disapproval of ; to pro- 
nounce a failure, i. Ch. 38. 

Death, interj. A vehement ex- 
clamation or imprecation, i. 

5. 26; 3. I. 3. 

Decorum, n. "{"That which is 
proper to the circumstances or 
requirements of the case. Arch. 
Ind. 79. 

■{"Dedicate, ppl. a. Devoted, i. 

6. 15. 



Glossary 



211 



Deduce, v. jTo deduct, substract. 

2. 6. 26. 

Defalk, v. iTo diminish by cutt- 
ing off a part. 5. 8. 42. 

Delicate, a. •[•Delightful, charm- 
ing. 2. I. 17. 

Deposition, n. Testimony given 
upon oath in a court of law. 

3- 3- 57- 
Determine, v. To end, terminate. 

3. Ch. 15. 

■fDevow, V. To devote, i. 6. 30. 
•Diametrall, a. Directly opposed. 

1. I. 7. 

Diamont, n. [Form of diamond.] 

2. 4. 27. 

Diaphanous, a. Permitting the 
free passage of light and vision ; 
transparent. 2. i. 16. 

Dictamen, n. ^Obs. Precept, dic- 
tate, pronouncement. Ind. 118. 

Diet-drink, n. Special drink 
prepared for invalids or per- 
sons under dietetic regimen. 

3- 4- 58- 

Discharge, v. To pay. 3. 4. 40. 

Discover, v. To reveal, show. 
Now rare. 5. 2. ?• 

Discovery, n. Disclosure, reve- 
lation. Now rare. 5. 10. 133. 

Discretion, n. ■[■Discernment in 
practical matters. i. i. 40. 

Disfurnish, v. To deprive of. 2. 
6. 156. 

Dispatch, n. Settlement, accom- 
plishment. I. 2. 8. 

Dispatch, v. To settle, accom- 
plish. 2. 5. 62 ; 3. 6. 10. 

Dispute, V. To argue. 3. 5. 98. 

Disputing, ppl. a. Given to 
dispute, disputatious, i. 2. 44. 

Dissolution, n. Termination, end- 
ing. I. I. II. 

Distemper, n. ' Derangement or 
disturbance of the " humour " 
or " temper " (according to 
mediaeval physiology regarded 
as due to disturbance in the 
bodily humours)'; ill humor; 
ill temper. 3. 5. 129; 5. i. 27. 

Divell, n. [Form of devil.] Rogue, 
rascal. 4. 4. 20; 4. 4. 25. 



Divers, a. Various, sundry, sev- 
eral. Arch. Ind. 8. 

Doome, v. To judge. Obs. or 
arch, in general. Epilogue. 

Dominus, M. L. Master, 2.4.15. 

Don, A title applied to persons of 
high importance or leading 
position : applied ironically to 
one giving himself airs of im- 
portance. 4. 3. 33. 

Doublet, n. A close-fitting body- 
garment, with or without slee- 
ves, worn by men from the 
14th to the 1 8th centuries. 
Obs. exc. Hist. 3. 3. 8. 

Doubt, V. To fear, be afraid. 5. 

I- 5- 
Dousets, n. pi. [Form of doucets.] 

The testicles of a deer. 5. 5. 2. 
Doxey, n. A beggar's mistress or 

paramour. 4. 8. 19. 
Drive, v. To carry on vigorously ; 

prosecute ; conduct ; practice. 

Ind. 8. 



Eeene, adv. [Form of even.] 
Prefixed to a subject, object, 
or predicate to emphasize its 
identity. Obs. exc. arch. 2. 2. 
24. 

Elfe-lock, n. A tangled mass of 
hair, superstitiously attributed 
to the agency of elves, esp. 
Queen Mab. Ind. 123. 

Ember-week, n. A week occur- 
ing in each of the four seasons 
of the year, which includes 
days set apart by the Roman 
Catholic church for prayer and 
fasting. 5. 2. 10. 

Eminence, n. i. A rising ground, 
hill. 2. A distinction. Ind. 31 

Empire, n. Absolute comman 
or control. Fig. 2. Ch. 47 ; 3. 

5- 49- 

Encomiastic, n. Form of enco- 
miastic] •[•A eulogistic dis- 
course or composition. 1.6. II. 

Encounter, n. i. Occurrence. 
Rare. 2. A meeting (of ad- 
versaries) ; a conflict. Passage 



212 



The Magnetic Lady 



may partake of both meanings. 
4. Ch. 25. 

Envions, a. fFuU of ill-will ; 
malicious. 4. 8. 21. 

jEpitasis, n. The second part of 
a dramatic work; the part in 
which the action begins. i. 
Ch. 9; 2. 73. 

Ergo, adv. Logic. [L. ergo there- 
fore.] A word used to mark 
the conclusion of a syllogism. 
Ind. 130. 

Errant =Arrant, a. i .With oppro- 
brious force : Notorious, down- 
right. 2. Without opprobrious 
force : Thorough, genuine, com- 
plete. Pun on these two 
meanings. 3. 4. 65. 
3. Travelling, wandering. 4. 
Erring. Humorous connota- 
tion of both meanings. 5. 4. 
19. 

Esteeme, n. Regard ; respect ; 
favorable opinion. Obs. or 
arch. I. 7. 40. 

Ethnick, n. Pagan ; a nation not 
Christian or Jewish. 3. 5. 176. 

Ever, adv. Constantly ; with con- 
tinual recurrence. Arch. 1.3. 

19- 

Exact, o. •{"Consummate, finished, 
perfect. 3. 3. 13. 

'I'Exacuate, v. To sharpen, sti- 
mulate, excite. 3. 3. 79. 

Execation, n. ' Infliction of da- 
mage or slaughter. Now almost 
exclusively in phr. to do exe- 
cution. NED. I. 5. 55. 

Exemplified, ppl. a. fMade an 
example of. 3. 5. 137. 

Expect, V. ■|"To wait for, await. 
I. Ch. 10 : 4. Ch. 5. 

Expostulate, v. fTo complain of, 
remonstrate with a person 
about. 4. 3. 16. 

Fable, V. I. -j-To talk, tell. 4. i. 

9. 2. To speak falsely, lie. 

Obs. exc. arch. 2. 5. 40. 
Face, n. Presence ; countenance 

as expressing feeling. 2. Ch. 

57- 



Faine, adv. Gladly, with plea- 
sure. Ind. 82. 

Faire, a. fKind, gracious, i. i. 
28. 

Faith, interj. In or on one's 
faith. Obs. or arch. 3. 5. 6. 

Fame, n. Common talk ; rumour. 
Now rare. 4. 7. 24. 

Farragoe, n. [farrago.'] A medley 
or mixture of material things or 
persons, i. 7. 19. 

Feat, n. |A professional opera- 
tion or service, i. 6. 25; 4. 6. 
28. 

Feate, n. fAn action' deed. 5.8. 
52. 

Fee-simple, n. ' An estate held 
on condition of homage and 
service to a superior lord by 
whom it is granted and in 
whom the ownership remains.' 
NED. 2. 6. 153. 

Fellow, n. fOne who shares with 
another in an official dignity, 
or the performance of any 
work ; a partner, co-worker. 
Ind. 61. 

Fellowes, n. pi. Equals in posi- 
tion or rank. 3. 5. 46. 

Fether, n. [Form of feather.'] 
Used derogatively ; A nobody : 
a mere nothing, i. 3. 17. 

Fidler, n. [Form of fiddler.] A 
trifler. 2. 6. 143. 

Figm-e-flinging, vbl. n. Figure 
casting ; calculating astrolog- 
ically. 4. Ch. 21. 

Fine, a. ^Intellectually subtle, 
clever, ingenious, i. 6. 25. 

Fire, n. Ardour of temperament ; 
fervour, i. 2. 4. 

Fit, n. "{"A painful or exciting 
experience. 3. 4. 77. 

Fit, V. •[•To satisfy the require- 
ments of; to answer, i. 5. 71. 

■fFlatuous, a. Full of wind or 
gas ; flatulent. 3. 3. 108. 

Fly, n. I. A fly wheel or other 
device used to regulate the 
speed of machinery. 2. 4. 10. 
2. A parasite. 2. 6. 144. 

Fly, V. To chase with a hawk ; 



A 



Glossary 



213 



to attack by flying. Phr. Fly 
to the mark : Attack everything 
you see as quarry. Ind. 115. 
Phr. To fly at. To attack. 3. 
3- 38. 

Fomentinsr, vbl. n. f Stirring up, 
rousing, i. Ch. 43. 

Fond, a. FooUsh, silly. 2. 5. 37. 

Footing, vbl. n. Track, trail. 
Now rare. 5. 5. 44. 

For, conj. ^Introducing the 
cause of a fact ; because. 3. 
2. 45. 

Forge, n. ^Invention. 4. 4. 41. 

Forme, n. Behavior, manners, 
etc. which satisfy the current 
ideals of 'society.' 2. 5. 59. 
2. A grade in English public 
schools. Ind. 40. 

Foro (In foro) adv. phr. In court ; 
in the open. Ind. 73. 

Foxe, n. -f-'A kind of sword. It 
has been conjectured that this 
arose from the figure of a wolf, 
on certain sword-blades, being 
mistaken for a fox.' NED. 

1. I. 47. 

Fricace, «. i. PFriction. 2. ?' A 
sort of medicine, probably 
intended to be rubbed upon 
the part diseased.' Nares. 3. 

2. 17. 

From, prep. |Apart from. 3. 

3- 119- 
Furnished, ppL a. -j-Accoutred, 

provided with necessaries, i. 

2. 32. 
Furze, n. A spiny evergreen 

shrub with yellow flowers, 

growing abundantly on waste 

lands throughout Europe. 5. 

7. 18. 

Gallant, a. i. Courtier-like; 
fashionable. 2. Indulging in 
social gaiety or display. Ind 

Garnish, a. "["Used to provide 
dress, clothes, esp. in an elegant 
fashion. 5. 8. 42. 

Geare, n. j"Doings, affair. 2. 2. 
44. 



Geere, v. [Form of jeer.^ To 
speak in mockery. 3. 6. 10. 

Gentile, a. [Form of genteel.'] 
'A re-adoption, at the end of 
the 1 6th c. of F. gentil, which 
had been previously adopted 
in the 13th c, and had assumed 
the form of gentle.' NED. 

1. Polished, well bred. 2. 
Appropriate to persons of rank 
or quality. Ind. 106. 

Gentleman-usher, n. A gentle- 
man acting as usher to a person 
of superior rank. 2. 3. 25. 

Ghastly, a. "["Causing terror, 
terrible, i. i. 48. 

Gills, n. {pi.) The mouth, jaws, 
or face. Slang, i. 2. 20. 

Gance at, phr. To allude or 
refer to obliquely or in passing, 
usually by way of censure or 
satire; to hit at. i. i. 65. 

Gleeke, n. 'A game at cards, 
played by three persons ; forty- 
four cards were used, twelve 
being dealt by each player, 
while the remaining eight form- 
ed a common " stock ".' NED. 

2. 3- 25. 

Gloworme, n. (Form of glow- 
worm.] An insect the female 
of which emits a shining green 
light. 5. 5. 14. 

Goe, V. "I" To walk. Epilogue. 

Gok't, ppl. a. [Form of gucked.] 
Foolish. 3. 6. 6. 

Goodwy', See Goody. 

Goody, n. [Shortened from good- 
wife.] A term of civility for- 
merly applied to a woman, 
usually a married woman, in 
humble life. 2. 2. 26. 

Gossip, n. I. A sponsor at bap- 
tism. I. 3. 41. 2, Familiar 
acquaintance, friend, chum. 
I. 2. 24. 

Grace, n. A favour, in contra- 
distinction to a right or obli- 
gation. Somewhat arch. 2. 
5- 23. 

Granam, [Form of grannam.] A 
grand mother ; an old woman. 



214 



The Magnetic Lady 



Obs. exc. dial. 4. 7. 35 ; 4. 
8. 66. 

Gratulate, v. |To offer congra- 
tulations. 5. 8. 4. 

Gravity, n. fWeight, authority. 
I. I. 39. 

Greene sickuesse. n. ' Path. 
Chlorosis ; a disease mostly 
affecting young females about 
the age of puberty, characte- 
rized by anoemia, suppression 
of the menses, and a pale or 
greenish complexion.' NED. 
I. 4. 17 ; 2. 2. 22. 

Grogoraii, n. [Form of grogram.] 
'A coarse fabric of silk, of 
mohair and wool, or of these 
mixed with silk ; often stiffened 
with gum.' NED. 4. i. 6. 

Ground, n. i. Basis, foundation. 
Rare. i. 6. 27. 2. Motive, 
valid reason. 4. 3. 29 ; 5. i. 30. 

Guard, n. An ornamental border 
or trimming on a garment. 
Obs. exc. hist, or arch. 1. 6. 22. 

Gueld, V. [Form of geld.] jTo 
deprive of some essential part. 
Transf. and fig. 2. 5. 64. 

Gums, n. pi. jMucilaginous or 
resinous products employed 
as drugs or perfumes. 3. 2. 9. 

Hag, n. An old woman. 5. 9. 5. 

Haggard, a. Of a hawk : Caught 
after having assumed adult 
plumage ; hence, wild, untamed. 

3- 3- 38- 

Halfe, n. "[A husband. 2. 2. 6. 

Hall, The, n. f Westminster Hall, 
formerly the seat of the High 
Court of Justice in England ; 
hence, the administration of 
justici. 2. 3. 47. 

Halt, V. To walk lame, Ump. 
Epilogue. 

Handle, n. Occasion, opportu- 
nity. Fig. 4. 7. 60. 

Handsome, a. Appropriate, happy, 
clever, i. Ch. 4. 

fHarrlngton, n. A brass farthing 
token, coined by John, Lord 
Harrington, under a patent 



granted him by James I in 
1613. 2. 6. loi ; 4. 8. 74. 

Have, at, v. phr. To go at or 
get at, esp. in a hostile way. 
Chiefly in imperative ; announ- 
cing the speaker's intent to 
get at or attack. 2. 6. 141. 

Head, Phr. Of the first head ; 
' said of a deer, etc. at the age 
when the antlers are first 
developed ; hence fig. of a man 
newly ennobled or raised in 
rank.' NED. 2. 3. 58. 

'Hem, phr. pi. [O. E. him, heom.} 
Them. ' Common in early 
Mod. Eng., in which it came 
to be regarded as a contr. of 
the equivalent them, and was 
therefore in the 17th c. often 
printed ' hem, 'em.' NED. 
I. 2. 36. 

Heresy, n. Opinion or doctrine 
characterizing particular indi- 
viduals or parties. 2. 6. 113. 

Heterogene, a. Heterogeneous. 
Wbs. 2. 6. 106. 

Hieroglyphick, n. [Form of hiero- 
glyphic.] A symbol, an em- 
blem. 2. 6. 74. 

High, a. I. Luxurious. 2. Ex- 
treme, i. e. ' high church.' Play 
one these meanings. 3. i. 5. 

Historified, ppl. a. Celebrated in 
history. 3. 5. 157. 

Histrionicall, a. [Form of histri- 
onical.] Acting a part, feigned. 
Fig. 3. 5. 141. 

Hole, n. Cave. den. i. i. 50. 

Home, adv. To the very heart or 
root of the matter ; effectively, 
thoroughly. Fig. 4. 3. 18. 

Honesty, n. "["Honour, credit, 
good name. 2. 5. 29. 

Honorable, a. Pertaining to per- 
sons of rank or social distinc- 
tion. 2. 6. 97. 

Horary, a. [L. hora, hour.] 
Hourly, i. 6. 6. 

Hospital, n. "|"An asylum for the 
destitute, infirm, or aged. i. 
5. II. 

Hot, a. That has not had time 



Glossary 



215 



to cool down or grow stale or 
unexciting ; fresh, recent. 4. 

4- 35- 

Humor, n. i. Fancy, whim, ca- 
price. 2. 6. 97. 2. Disposition, 
temper, i. i. 6; i. i. 23; i. 
I. 42; 2. 6. 113; 2. 6. 122; 3. 

5- 50- 

Humour, n. Strong personal in- 
cUnation [to do something). 
3- 3- 90. 

I, inter j. Ay, yes. Ind. 37; i. 

1. 56. 

Dlustrate, v. fTo shed hght upon, 

illumine, i. 5. 69. 
Impertinent, a. Meddling with 

what is beyond ones province ; 

intrusive ; behaving without 

proper deference to superiors. 

I- 5- 45- 
Impertinent, n. An intrusive, 

presumptuous person. 3. 5. 42. 
Imploy, V. \Obs. form of employ.'] 

|To send on a special errand or 

commission. Ind. 41. 
Imprest, a. |0f money : Lent or 

paid in advance. 4. 3. 14; 4. 

3- 35- 
Inchant, v. [Form of enchant.'] 
■j"To attract, as if by magic. 2. 

2. 3- 

Incumbent, a. jlmpending, im- 
minent. 3. 5. 133. 

Indifferent, a. |Having a neutral 
quality between excess and 
defect ; of medium quality, i 
Ch. 76. 

Induction, n. An introduction. 
Ind; 3. 5. 67. 

Infused, ppl. a. Imparted by 
divine influence. 3. 5. 174. 

Ingage, v. [Form of engage.] i. 
To pledge, to guarantee. Ind. 

52- 

2. To attract, charm, fascinate. 

Now rare. 2. 5. 30. 

Ingenious, a. -j-High-minded ; 
honest, frank. 2. 5. 27. 

Ingenuity, «. jlntellectual capa- 
city ; quickness of wit. Ind. 
49. 



Ingine, n. [Form of engine.] 

•[A contrivance, device. 5. 1.2. 
Inlarge, v. [Form of enlarge.] To 

speak at large, expatiate. 2. 

5. 10. 
In orthodoxe, phr. In a proper or 

conventional manner. 3. 2. 9. 
Instant, a. Pressing, urgent. 4. 

5. 20. 

Insufficiencie, n. | Unfitness, in- 
capacity. 3. 5. 120. 

Intaile, v. [Form of entail.] To 
bestow or confer as if by entail ; 
to cause to descend to a desig- 
nated series of possessors, i. 

6. 102. 

Jack, n. (As a common noun.) 
•fA man of the common people ; 
a lad, fellow ; a low-bred or 
ill-mannered fellow. i. Ch. 
32. 

Jewell, n. A costly ornament. 
In the general sense, ohs. i. 

7. 24. 

John 4 Noke, (or Nokes.) A 
fictitious name for one of the 
parties in a legal action (usu- 
ally coupled with J ohn-a- Stiles 
as the name of the other) ; 
hence sometimes used inde- 
finitely for any individual per- 
son. 2. Ch. 17. 

John a Style, See John a Noke. 
2. Ch. 17. 

Juggle, V. "I-To amuse or enter- 
tain people by stories, songs, 
jesting, buffoonery etc. i. Ch. 
26. 

Eallygraphy, n. [Form of calli- 
graphy.] Handwriting, pen- 
manship. 3. 5. 12. 

Earlin, n. [Form of carline, or 
carting. (Northern M. E. ker- 
ling.)] A woman, esp. an old 
one ; often implying contempt 
or disparagement, i. 5. 23. 

Kind, Phr. A kind of, ' An indi- 
vidual that is, or may be, in- 
cluded in the class in question, 
though not possessing its full 



2l6 



The Magnetic Lady 



characteristics.' NED. i. 

7- 3- 
Knowne, ppl. a. Having had 
sexual intercourse. Arch. 4. 
3- 27- 

Lack) V. |To need, stand in 
need of. Salesman's cry, ' What 
d'ye lack.' Ind. i; 2. 2. 49. 

Lady, Phr. My Lady. The 
Virgin Mary. 2. 2. 49. 

Landresse, n. [Form of laundress.'\ 
4. 7. 30. 

Lay, V. To prevent (a spirit) from 
' walking.' 4. 4. 49. 

Lease, n. With reference to the 
permanence of occupation gua- 
ranteed by a lease. Fig. i. 
4.^ 49- 

Leyitick, a. [Form of Levitic] 
Pertaining to the book of 
Leviticus. Levitic Law, the 
collections of ritual laws found 
in the book of Leviticus, i. 
2. 29. 

Lie, V. Of immaterial things : 
To exist. Fig. 3. 5. 96. 

Ligature, n. Ligament. 3. 4. 34. 

Light, a. I. Deficient in weight; 
below the legal standard. 2. 
Frivolous, unthinking. Play 
on these two meanings. 3. 
6. 19. 

Light, V. To alight, settle, des- 
cend upon. Ind. 122. 

Lights, n. pi. Pieces of informa- 
tion or instruction ; facts, dis- 
coveries. 5. 5. 20. 

List, V. To wish, desire, choose. 
Arch. 2. 3. 6. 

Livery, a. A distinguishing dress 
of servants. 5. 7. 70. 

Loam, n. Earth, soil, moistened 
clay. Arch. i. 4. 16. 

Lord paramount, n. Lord supe- 
rior ; over lord. 4. 2. 14. 

Mad, a. i. Extravagantly or 
wildly foolish; frenzied, i. 5. 
29. 2. Angry, i. 5. 30. 

Magisterial!, a. [Form of magist- 
erial.] Proper to a master or 



teacher; authoritative, i. i. 

13- 

^Maiden-head, n. A represen- 
tation of the head or bust of 
Virgin Mary as an ornamental 
bearing om a shield. 5. 2. 27. 

Maime, n. A wound or injury. 
Obs. or arch. 3. 3. 11. 

Maine, a. Very great or consi- 
derable. I. 3. 6; I. I. 67. 

Maniple, n. fA handful. 7. i. 12. 

Marke, n. "j"!. The quarry of a 
hawk. Ind. 116. 

2. 'A money of account, ori- 
ginally representing the value 
of a mark weight of pure silver. 
In England after the Conquest, 
the ratio of 20 sterling pennies 
to an ounce was the basis of 
computation ; hence the value 
of a mark became fixed at 160 
pence=i3s. 4d. or Y3 of the 
£ sterling.' Obs. exc. hist. 
NED. 4. 6. 27. 

Marke, v. To observe ; to watch. 
Now poet. 3 Ch. 16; 5. 5. 7. 

Mary, inter j. The name of the 
Virgin Mary used as an oath 
or an ejaculatory invocation. 

3. 2. 10; 5. 10. 80. 
{jMarsupium, n. The scrotum. 

3- 4- 35. 

■[Mas, A vulgar or jocular shor- 
tening of master. 3. i. 24. 

Mate, n. A suitable associate ; 
an equal in eminence or dignity. 
Arch. 2. Ch. 4. 

Matter, n. Ground, reason, or 
cause for doing something. 3. 

3- 93- 

Maturely, adv. With full deUb- 
eration, after mature consid- 
eration. 2. 5. 20. 

Maturity, n. fMature conside- 
ration; due deliberation. 2. 
5. 21. 

Meane, v. To purpose, intend, 
design, i. 4. 47. 

Meanely, adv. Ill, badly. 2. 6. 
126. 

Mend, v. To cure, reform (of a 
fault.) Arch, or dial. 3. 5. 86. 



Glossary 



217 



Mere, adv. Absolutely, entirely. 
2. 6. 106. 

Merkat, n. [Form of market.] 
Phr. To make market. To 
barter away; to make illicit 
profit out of. 4. 7. 33. 

Miracle, n. ^A miraculous story. 
I. Ch. 22. 

fMisadvised, ppl. a. Ill-advised ; 
injudicious. 4. 7. 16. 

Mischief e, n. "[An injury, harm, 
or evil. 3. 5. 133; 3. 5. 142. 

Moath, n. [Form of moth.] So- 
mething that eats away, gnaws 
or wastes away gradually. 
Fig. 2. 6. 144. 

Moneth, «. [Obs. form of month.] 
I. 4. 37; 2. 3. 30. 

Mother, n. The hysterical passion 
(with quibble). 4. 7. 29; 511. 

Move, V. To propose or suggest 
(something to be done) ; to 
bring forward (a matter). 2. 
5. 6. 

Mrs., n. jln the 17th and i8th 
c. prefixed to the name of an 
unmarried lady or girl ; equi- 
valent to the mod. use of Miss. 
I. 2. 3. 

Murther, n. [Form of murder.] 
•["Terrible slaughter, destruc- 
tion of life. I. 5. 60; 3. 4. 19. 

Mushrome, n. [Form of mush- 
room.] An upstart. Hence, 
■[a contemptible person. Fig. 

3- 5- 70- 
Musse, n. lA scramble. 4, 3. 10. 
Mysterie, n. t^rt, craft, trade. 

1. 2. 29. 

Name, n. The name of a person 
with implication of the indi- 
vidual denoted by it. Ind. 62. 

Nay, adv. Used as introductory 
word without any direct nega- 
tion. I. Ch. 35. 

Neat, a. I . jElegant, trim, fashio- 
nably dressed, i. 3. 36; 2. 

2. 43- 

2. ■]■ Suited to refinement or 
elegance. 2. i. 14. 

3. ^Skillful, clever. 2. 3. 45, 



Necessitous, a. jEnforced. 2. 
5- 132. 

Neerer, adv. comp. of neer. [Form 
of near.] More particularly ; 
of affairs of greater concern. 
_5- 3- 29. 

Nick, Phr. To nick it. To make 
a hit ; to win against rivals. 
2. 4. 34. 

Night-crow, w. A raven. 2. i. 16. 

Nip, V. To pinch, squeeze sharp- 
ly. 3. 4. 6. 

Noble, a. A former English gold 
coin, first minted by Edward 
III, having the current value 
of i6s. 8d. (or los.) Pun on 
this and current meaning. 4. 
6. 26. 

Noise, n. "["Common talk, ru- 
mour. 5. 4. 16. 

Note, n. A mark or token from 
which something may be in- 
ferred. 4. 2. 25. 

0', prep. [Worn down or apo- 
copate form of of.] Ind. 6. 
etc. 

Obnoxious, a. Liable to injury. 

3- 5- 15- 
Observe, v. "["To treat with cere- 
monious respect or reverence ; 
to honor ; to humour, gratify. 

2. 6. 93. 

Occasion, n. Cause, i, i. 12 ; 

I- I- 33- 

Occasion,!;. To cause. 3.Ch. ii. 

'Od, inter j. A contracted or 
minced form of God, in ex- 
pression ' od shield.' i. 4. 17. 

Of, adv. f Off. 4. 4. 51. 

Off, V. "["To leave off, put off. 
5- 7- 24. 

Offer, V. To attempt ; to put 
forth effort, i. i. 38. 

Office, n. Duty attaching to ones 
station or position. 2. 6. 61 ; 

3. 5- 48; 4 Ch. 4. 

Often, a. Frequent. Arch. 3. 

5. 119. 
Ope, V. Reduced from open. "["To 

reveal, disclose. Poet. 4. 7. 

42. 



2l8 



The Magnetic Lady 



Open, a. Liberal, generous. 2. 
I. 12. 

Open, V. To state (a case) to the 
court, preliminary to adducing 
evidence; esp., to speak first 
in a case ; to open pleadings. 
Law. I. 7. 23. 

Opinion, n. fReputation. i. i. 
39- 

Oppilation, n. An obstruction. 
Med. 3. 4. 70. 

Or, conj. In correlation : or-or. 
either-or. Arch, or poet. i. 5. 
6; 2. 6. 99; 3. 5. 34. 

Order, phr. To take order. -j-To 
deal with, manage (in a speci- 
ficed manner.) 5. 2. 9. 

Ordinance, n. Order, regulated 
condition. Ohs. in general. 3. 
5- 103. 

Orient, a. The colour or peculiar 
lustre of a pearl of the best 
quality. jRare. 5. 7. 91. 

Out, inter]. With ellipsis oi 
intr. V. (go, come, etc.) An 
exclamation expressing lamen- 
tation, abhorrence, or in- 
dignant reproach. Arch, or 
dial. I. 5. 21. 

Over, adv. Beyond what is nor- 
mal or proper; excessively, i. 
I. 61. 

■{■Pack, V. ' To select or make up 
(a jury or a deliberating or 
voting body) in such a way as 
to secure a partial decision, or 
further some private or party 
ends.' NED. 3. 3. 6 ; 3. 3. 22. 

Panoplie, n. [Form of panoply.'] 
A complete suit of armour. 
3- 5- 81. 

Panym, a. See Paynim. 3. 2. 10. 

Paralaxe, n. [Form of parallax.] 
fChange, alteration, i. 6. 39. 

Parasite, «. One who lives at 
another's expense and repays 
him with flattery. Ind. 3 ; 
I. 3. 40. 

fParer^a, n. pi. Of Par ergon. 
By-work, subordinate or se- 
condary business, i. 7. 69. 



Particular, a. Individual. 2. Ch. 
68. 

Parts, n. Abilities, talents, (al- 
most always in pi.) Arch. Ind. 
15; 55; 4- 6. 14. 

Party, n. A particular person. 
Now vulgar. 3. 6. 7. 

Pase, V. [Form of pass.] To go, 
walk. 5. 2. 23. 

Passage, n. A fUght ; also fig. 
a dispute, verbal altercation. 
2. 6. 152. 

Passe, V. -j-To give in pledge; 
to pledge. Ind. 51. 

Passion, n. The condition of 
being acted upon, the being 
passive. 3. 5. 184. 

Patentee, n. jOne to whom 
something has been granted. 
Fig. 2. T. 6. 

Paynim, n. A pagan, heathen ; 
a non-Christian : esp. a Mo- 
hammedan, a Saracen. Arch. 
and poet. i. Ch. 19. 

Pox, n. [Form of pocks, pi. of 
pock.] Formerly much used 
in imprecative phrases. 3. 2.3. 

Peach, V. To give incriminating 
evidence against, inform against 
(an accompUce or associate). 
Now Rare. 4. 7. 34. 

Pease-dresser, n. One who pre- 
pares peas by making ready to 
cook, or cooking. 4. 7. 11. 

Peece, n. [Form of piece.] A 
gold piece ; a coin. 4. 6. 27. 

Peice, n. [Form of piece.] A 
person, an individual. Arch. 
and dial. 4. 2. 38. 

Piece, of Phr. ■{■Somewhat of; 
one who partakes to some ex- 
tent of the character mentioned 
1. 2. 30. 

•fPerdu, n. [Partly short for 
sentinel perdus or Fr. enfants 
perdus.] A soldier placed in 
a position of special danger, 
and hence considered as vir- 
tually lost or in a desperate 
case. 5. 3. 122. 

Peremptory, a. Positive in opi- 
nion or assertion ; esp. in bad 



Glossary 



2ig 



sense, intolerant in debate or 
contradiction ; dogmatic. i . 
Ch. 32. 

Perimeter, n. The continuous 
line or lines forming the boun- 
dary of a closed geometrical 
figure ; circumference. Fig. 
use. Ind. 97 ; 3. 3. 9S. 

Perk, V. To assume a self-asser- 
tive, or conceited attitude or 
air. 3. 5. 172. 

Perplex, v. To complicate ; to 
make intricate. 4. Ch. 32. 

Person, n. [Form of parson.] A 
clergyman, i. 5. 24. 

Perstringe, v. To criticize ad- 
versely. 2. Ch. 2. 

Pert, a. Saucy, impudent, in- 
decorously loquacious. 3.1.32. 

Pestilent, a. Dangerous to reli- 
gion, morals, or public peace. 
2. 6. 126. 

Phansie, «. [Form of phantasy 
or fantasy.] Extravagant or 
visionary fancy. Ind. i. 

Phansie, v. [From of fancy.] To 
imagine. Ind. 92 ; 2. Ch. 21. 

Phlebotomy, n. The action or 
practice of cutting open a vein 
so as to let blood, as a medical 
or therapeutical operation. 3. 

^4- 45- 

Piece, V. To reunite, rejoin, (a 
broken friendship). 3. i. 14. 

Piercing, ppl. a. Sharp, keen, 
penetrating, i. 5. 20. 

PImpe, n. A pander, procurer. 
Pimpe errant. In humorous 
imitation of knight errant, etc. 
5. 4. 19. 

Pinke, n. "fA hole or eyelet pun- 
ched in a garment for deco- 
rative purposes. 3. 5. 75. 

Plant, v. Post, station. Ind. 114. 

fPlastick, n. [Form of plastic] 
A modeller, moulder, sculptor. 
4. Ch. 14. 

Poesie, n. ^A motto or short 
inscription. 4. 6. 51. 

Poet'accio. n. Poet, a term of 
disparagement ; [Ital. poetac- 
cio.] a poetaster. Ind. 9. 



Poetaster, n. A petty or paltry 
poet; a rimester. Ind. 9. 

||Poetito, n. A paltry poet, a 
poetaster. [Ital. deriv. of L. 
poeta, poet.] Ind. 9. 

Point, n. The essential or im- 
portant thing. 4. 7. 48. 

'Point, V. [Contraction of ap- 
point.] To make an appoint- 
ment. Arch. 4. 6. 5. 

Policie, n. |Government. 4. 3. 
22. 

Politique, a. [Obs. form of 
politic] I. ■[■ Political, i. 7. 6; 
2. 6. 65. 

2. "{"Sagacious, prudent. 4. 8. 

63- 
Politique, n. i. "fA shrewd 
schemer. 2. ^A sagacious, pru- 
dent person. Play on these 
two meanings. 3. 5. 53. 

3. t' One of an opportunist 
and moderate party, which 
arose in France c. 1573, during 
the Huguenot wars, and re- 
garded peace and political re- 
form as more urgent than the 
decision by arms of a religious 
quarrel ; also a sympathizer 
with this party elsewhere.' 
NED. 3. 5. 21 ; 

4. in pi. Politics. 4. 3. 12. 
Port, V. fTo carry, bear, convey. 

I. 5- 48. 

Poultrounerie, n. Cowardice. 3. 
5- .36. 

Practice, n. A scheme or plan 
made for an evil purpose. 4. 
4. 10. Practise, 4. 8. 56. 

Pragmatick, a. [Form of prag- 
matic] Officiously busy in 
other people's affairs ; medd- 
ling. 2. 6. 144. 

Prescribe, v. To appoint, direct. 
I. 7. 8. 

Present, a. Actually in hand, 
dealt with, considered. Ind. 

74- 
Presently, adv. Immediately, at 

once. Arch. 3. 3. 125, 3. Ch. 

12. 
Presentment, n. The act of 



220 



The Magnetic Lady 



presenting to sight or hearing. 
I. Ch. 3. 

Prevent, v. To act before (anoth- 
er person) ; to anticipate in 
action. 5. 10. 84. 

Prick, n. "[A punctuation or 
metrical mark, a diacritical 
point ; the points in Hebrew or 
other languages, i. 5. 38. 

Prick, V. Phr. i. "^To prick fast 
upon. To approach closely 
in attainment. 4. i. i. 2. "j'To 
choose, pick out. 2. 2. 10. 

3. To stimulate, enliven. Arch. 
I. 2. 17. 

4. Phr. To prick out. To 
attire elaborately ; to dress 
up. Dial. 2. 3. 71. 

Pricking, ppl. a. ^Goading, stim- 
ulating. 5. 7. 10. 

Prime, adj. First in rank or 
importance. Ind. 126 ; i. 6. i ; 
3 Ch. 2. 

Prognostick, n. [Form of prog- 
nostic] A pre-indication, omen 

4. 2. 26. 

Project, n. fPlan, scheme, i. 

7- 74- 
Proper, a. True, real, genuine. 

5. 9. 19. 

Prostitute, ppl. a. Abandoned to 
sensual indulgence ; licentious. 
4. 3. 28; 4. 3. 30. 

fProtasis, n. ' In the ancient 
drama. The first part of a play, 
in which the characters are 
introduced and the subject 
entered on.' NED. i. Ch. i. 

Provoke, v. To incite or urge (a 
person) to do something ; to 
excite, spur on. 5. 10. 87. 

Publican, n. A tax-gatherer. 2. 

6. 144. 

Purge, n. |An emptying. (Hu- 
morously.) 3. 4. 47. 

Purge, V. iTo empty. (Hu- 
morously.) 3. 4. 47. 

Pursiness, n. ^Internal stuffiness. 
3- 4- 32. 

Quar, [Contr. of quarry.] i. 
7- 30. 



Quere, n. A question ; an in- 
quiry. 5. 10. 16. 

Questman, n. One of a body of 
persons appointed to hold 
an inquiry. Now rare. 4. 7. 
38. 

Quick, a. Lively, sprightly, i. 
6. 12. 

Rattle, n. An uproar ; noisy 
gaiety; stir. 5. 4. 18. 

Reall. a. [Form of real.] Legal : 
Relating to property ; opposed 
to personal, i. 3. 13. 

Reckon, v. i. "{"To estimate, 
value. I. I. 45. 2. fTo 
consider ; take account of. 3. 

3- 15- 

Reckoning, n. A bill of charges ; 
an itemized statement of what 
is due. 3. 4. 40. 

Recusant, n. One who will not 
conform to general practice. 
3. I. 20. 

Redargue, v. jTo argue in oppo- 
sition to another person. 3. 
5. 96. 

Relaxative, n. A laxative medi- 
cine. 3. 4. 37. 

Relish, V. fTo pleasure, gratify. 

I- 7- 37- 

Remora, n. [a L. remora, delay, 
hindrance.] The sucking fish 
believed by the ancients to 
have the power of staying the 
course of any ship to which it 
attached itself. 2. 2. 25. 

Require, v. To ask for as a favor ; 
request. Obs. or arch. 2. 5. 
27. 

Residence, n. "[The sediment or 
settlings of liquors. 3. 4. 68. 

Rest, n. fA sum remaining to be 
paid ; balance or arrears of 
money due. 5. 5. 45. 

Restive, a. Inclined to rest or 
remain still; inert. Now rare 
or obs. 3. 4. 38. 

Retchlesnesse, n. [Form of reck- 
lessness.] ■j-Carelessness, negli- 
gence. 4. 4. 8. 

Retrograde, a. Of the planets : 



Glossary 



221 



Apparently moving in a di- 
rection contrary to the order 
of the signs, or from east to 
the west. Astr. 5. 10. 14. 
Reversion, n. The return of land 
to the granter and his heirs 
after the grant is over ; some- 
times the promise of an office 
to an aspirant after the resig- 
nation or death of the present 
incumbent. Law. i. 7. 48; 

5- 3- 17. 

Rigg'd, ppl. a. Dressed. Colloq. 
2. 2. 33. 

Bight, a. I. Genuine, not coun- 
terfit or spurious. 5. 2. 20. 
2. Of persons ; Judging, thin- 
king, or acting in accordance 
with truth or the facts of the 
case. 4. 6. 19. 

Right, adv. With intensive force. 
Very. Arch. i. 4. 20 ; 2. 3. 49. 

Ripe, a. I. Properly considered 
or deliberated. Ind. 86. 
2. Fully developed physically; 
■["marriageable. Ind. 94; i. 
2. 5- 

Rosa solis, n. ("N. L. ' Rose of 
the sun.'] A cordial made 
with spirits and various fla- 
vorings, as orange-flower and 
cinnamon. 3. 2. 36. 

Round, a. Quick, brisk, i. 2. 8. 

Roundly, adv. Promptly, smart- 
ly, briskly, i. i. 56. 

Ruminate, v. To think over, 
ponder. 2. Ch. 71. 

Run, i;. Phr. To run over. i. To 
examine, recapitulate. 2. To 
ride on or drive over. Pun 
on these two meanings. 5. 5. 20. 

Sack, a. jA strong, light-colored 

wine. I. 2. 27. 
Sad, a. [L. sat, satis, enough.] 

Morose, dismal-looking. 5. i. 

18. 
Sanctuary, n. A place of refuge 

or protection. 3. 2. 13. 
Sanguinarie, n. A bloodthirsty 

person ; one eager to shed blood 

I- 5- 52. 



Sawcy, a. [Form of saucy.'] Im- 
pudent, pert. Pun on sauce, 
a condiment or rehsh. i.Ch. 59. 

Scape, n. [Form of escape."] 3. 
5- 119. 

Scheme, n. A system ; a con- 
nected arrangement of precepts 
or coordinate theories. 2.5.32. 

SchoIIer, n. [Form of scholar.] 
I. I. 19; I. 4- 3- 

Scrupulous, a. -[-Captious. 2. 5. 

63. 

Search, v. -[Tc examine in order 
to ascertain the disposition of. 
3- 5- 16. 

Secretary, a. Entrusted with 
private matters; privy to a 
secret. 4. 7. 30. 

Secular, a. Commonplace, un- 
initiated. Used contemptously. 
Wbs. I. 7. 70. 

Secure, v. To make free from 
care or apprehension. 2. 4. 21. 

Security, n. Confidence, assu- 
rance. Ind. 57. 

Servant, n. f A professed lover. 
Note the correlative term ' mis- 
tress.' 4. 8. 38. 

Set to, Phr. To begin fighting 
with. I. I. 56. 

Shall, V. I. Must. 4. 7. 5. 2. Is 
sure to. 4. 7. 6. 

Sheaf e, n. 'Apphed to various 
things collected or bundled 
together.'— Nares. Hence, fig. 
A class, a group. 3. 5. 154. 

Shew, V. intrans. To be seen, 
appear. 2. 7. 12. 

Shift, n. An expedient, device. 
3. Ch. I. 

Shot free, Phr. Invulnerable. 3. 
5- 123. 

Show, V. intrans. To appear, to 
look. 4. Ch. 27. 

Shrewd, a. Harsh, severe, serious. 
3. 3. II ; 5. 10. 80. 

Signature, n. A mental charac- 
teristic ; a condition of charac- 
ter. 2 Ch. 44. 

Signe, n. An indication of some 
coming event ; spec, an omen 
or portent. 4. 2. 30. 



P2 



222 



The Magnetic Lady 



Silken, a. Smooth, soft, effemi- 
nate. 3. 3. 127. 

Sillabe, n. [Form of syllable.] 
2. 5- 8. 

Sin', adv. Since. Ind. 39. 

Sirrab, A term of address used 
to men or boys, expressing con- 
tempt, reprimand, or assump- 
tion of authorithy on the 
part of the speaker. Obs. or 
arch. Ind. 7 ; 4. 8. i. 

Slid, interi. An old exclamation 
apparently an abbreviation of 
God's (eye)lid. 4. 3. 39. 

Sliding, a. Briefly, as in passing. 

1. I. 64. 

Slip, n. I. A base-born child. 

2. A counterfit. Pun on these 
meanings. 3. 6. 26. 

Slur, V. ■[■' To practice cheating 
by sUpping a die out of the 
box so as not to let it turn ; 
hence, to cheat in any way.' 
C. D. 3. 6. 23 & 24. 

Smart, a. fSharp. painful, se- 
vere. I. I. 78. 

Smock, n. A shirt worn by 
woman ; a chemise. 5. 3. 27. 

■["Smock-secret, n. A secret be- 
longing or relating to women. 
4. 7. 41 ; 5. 4. 20. 

So, conj. Provided that. Ind. 
47; 116. 1.4. 53; 2. 5. 64. 

Solemne, a. Ceremonious, for- 
mal, awful. I. 5. 53. 

Sometime, adv. At one time ; 
formerly, i. 3. 41. 

Soothing, ppl. a. Yielding to ; 
flattering immoderately. 1.3. 41. 

Sooth-Sayer, n. A truthful per- 
son. A diviner; a pretender to 
prophetic powers. Intentional 
ambiguity ? 2. 2. 41. 

Sow, V. To scatter. Pun on the 
word sew : to serve at table, as 
by carving, tasting, etc. 3. i. 12. 

Sparke, n. A gay, lively, showy 
man; a "blade". 3. 3. 69. 

Speed, V. To fare, to have any 
fortune, good or bad. Ind. 103. 

Spice, M. [L. species.] Specimen, 
sample, i. 4. 16; 2. 3. 35. 



Spiced, ppl. a. fOver-nice in 
matters of conscience. 4. 6. 41. 

Square, v. To adjust, accomo- 
date. 3. 3. 27. 

'Ssay,^Essay, n. fA proof. 5. 

7- 54- 

Stal, n. [Form of stall.'] A booth 
in which merchandise is ex- 
posed for sale. i. 2. 24. 

Statist, n. A statesman, politi- 
cian. Obs. or arch. i. 7. 43. 

State-cap, n. A cap of state ; one 
worn as a symbol of rank or 
office. I. 7. 33. 

Stay, n. Check, restraint, delay. 
22. 31. 

Stick, V. To stop, hesitate. 4. 

6. 33- 

Still, adv. Always, ever. 3. 4. 57. 

Stitch, n. A sharp spasmodic 
pain, especially in the inter- 
costal muscles. 4. i. 3. 

Stint, V. To cease, desist. 2. 5. 37. 

Straight, adv. At once, straight- 
way. 2. 6. 87; 4. 2. 54. 

Stroaker, n. [Form of stroker.] 
■[A soothing flatterer; a syco- 
phant. 4. 4. 4. 

Study, V. To be diligent or zeal- 
ous; to use careful efforts. 
I. I. 27. 

Sufferance, n. Patience, tole- 
ration. I. I. 10. 

■{•Surreverently, adv. [Form of 
save-reverently.] 'A kind of 
apologetical apostrophe, when 
something is said that might 
be thought filthy or indecent.' 
— Nares. i. 2. 12. 

Surveyor, n. An examiner, super- 
visor. I. 7. 74. 

fSwath band, n. A swaddling 
band, a bandage, as of linen, 
for swaddUng a young child. 
3. 4. 26. 

Sweet, a. Pleasant, agreeable. 
Ironically. 4. 4. 54. 

Swindge, v. To beat, scourge. 
I. I. 56. 

■[Syntaxis, n. Connected system 
or order ; union of things, i . 
I. 87. 



Glossary 



223 



Tabour, «. A small kind of drum 
used chiefly as an accompani- 
ment to the pipe or trumpet. 
Now hist., arch., or poetic. Fig. 
use. 5. 5. 42. 

Take; v. To please, charm, capti- 
vate. I. Ch. 23. 

Tale, n. I. Number, reckoning, 
division. 2. A narrative. Pun 
on these meanings. Ind. 121. 

Taxable, a. •j"Blamable, char- 
geable. 2. Ch. 18. 

Tell-troth, n. fA veracious or 
candid person, generally used 
ironically ; an informer ; politi- 
cal intelUgencer. 4. 8. 63. 
See note. 

Temper, v. To allay or dilute by 
mingling with something else. 
Arch. 4. Ch. 13. 

Tendrins, ppl. a. fTreating with 
solicitude, fondness, or care. 

2. 3- 3- 

Termes, n. pi. Limiting condi- 
tions. 2. 5. 25. 

Thankes, A much abbreviated 
expression of gratitude for a 
favour received ;=I give you 
my thanks, my thanks to you. 
2. 6. 129. 

Tbat, conj. So that. Arch. 2. Ch. 33. 

fThen, co«;. Than. Ind. 98 ; 2. 5. 66. 

Think, v. ■f'To seem, appear. 
[O. E. J)ync(e)an often confused, 
with O. E. J)enc(e)an to think.] 
Me thinks=lt seems to me. 
I. 2. 12. 

Threaten, v. To presage, portend. 
Fig. 3. Ch. 6. 

Thred, n. [Form of thread.] 
I. A narrative, train of thought 
a sequence of events. Ind. 
107. 2. jKind, nature. Ind. 

89; I. 3- 37- 
Throwe, n. [Form of throe.] A 

violent spasm or pang. 3. 

Ch. 12. 
Thrust, V. Meaning uncertain ; 

possibly to joke, banter. 3. 

I. 28. 
Thus, adv. Qualifying an adj. : 

So; to this extent, i. 7. 47. 



Tiffany, n. |A kind of thin silk 
or gauze ; the emblem of sanc- 
timoniousness. 2. 3. 6. 

Time, n. A part of time charac- 
terized by some important 
event or series of events. 3 . i . i o. 

Timpane, w. [Form of tympany.] 
An inflated or distended con- 
dition of the abdomen or peri- 
tonium ; tympanites. 2. 3. ^^. 

Tithing, n. The act of taking 
tithe, or taxes for the support 
of the clergy and the church. 
I. 2. 24. 

Tittle, V. To tattle, to talk idly ; 
to prate. 2. 3. 27. 

Top, n. The highest example or 
type. ?Arch. or ohs. 4. 2. 15. 

Top-gallant, n. The topgallant 
mast, sail, or rigging of ship : 
that above the topmast. Hence, 
fig. Any elevated place. 4.2.14. 

Touching, pp. Affecting, relat- 
ing to. I. 2. 8. 

Toy, n. I A fantastic notion. 5. 

1. 24. 

Travell, n. [Form of travail.] 

Labor in childbed. Arch. 5. 

10. 132. 
tTreene, a. Wooden. 4. 8. 17. 
Trencher, n. A wooden plate or 

platter for the table or kitchen. 

5. 8. 50. 
Trewel, n. [Form of trowel.] A 

mason's or bricklayer's tool. 

2. Ch. 66. 

Trim. n. i. Fashionable dress. 
2. Of ships : The state of being 
fully prepared for sailing. Play 
on these meanings. 2. 2. 33. 

Troth, interj. In faith. Without 
preposition the use of troth is 
colloq. or lit., not vernacular. 
Ind. 45; I. I. 15; I. 3. 23; 4. 
Ch. I. 

Trow, (or I trow), 'A phrase added 

to questions, and expressive 

of contemptuous or indignant 

surprise ; nearly equivalent to 

/ wonder. C. D. 3. 6. 4. 

Turne, n. Requirement, present 
need. 2. 6. 94. 



224 



The Magnetic Lady 



Tweak, v. To twitch ; pinch or 

pull with a sharp jerk. 3. 4. 4. 

Twi-reason, n. A two fold reason. 

3- 5- 7- 

Tye, V. To bind by favour or 
service rendered ; to put under 
obligations. Ind. 16. 

Tympanites, n. Distention of the 
abdomen caused by the pre- 
sence of air. 2. 3. 19. 

fTyring-house, n. The room 
where the players dress for the 
stage. 4. 7. 43. 

fUmbratile, a. Pertaining to a 
shadow. 3. 3. iiQ. 

Unbrace, v. To free from tension ; 
relax. 2. 8. 20. 

Undertake, v. To promise, warr- 
ant. Ind. 48. 

Undo, V. To bring ruin or 
distress upon. 3. 6. 2 ; 3. 6. 12. 

Unvaluable, a. Invaluable, price- 
less. I. 7. 39. 

Upbraid, v. fTo mock, taunt, 
flout. 4. 3. 14. 

Usurer, n. fA person who lent 
money at interest. Now only 
applied to those who lend it 
at an exorbitant or illegal rate. 
The Persons that Act. 

Vapour, n. Smoke, fog. 2. 3. 36. 

Veine, n. i. A blood vessel. 
2. Mood, temper, disposition. 
Pun on these two meanings. 
3- 4- 50. 

|Vellute, a. Same as velvet. 5. 
3- 27. 

Vent, V. To give forcible ex- 
pression to. 1. 2. 43; 2. 3. 12. 

Venter, v. [Form of venture.'] 
Ind. 46. 

Verge, n. ' In Eng. law : The 
compass of the jurisdiction 
of the . . . palace-court. It 
was an area of about twelve 
miles in circumference, embra- 
cing the royal palace, in which 
special provisions were made 
for peace and order.' C. D. Fig. 
use. 4. 7. 41. 



Vescia, n. The bladder. 3. 4. 35. 

Vi-politique, n. A substitute or 
deputy politician ; a secretary 
to a politician. The Persons 
that act; i. 7. i. 

fVively, adv. In a Uvelv manner. 

2. Ch. 32. 

Ward-mote, n. A meeting of the 
ward. Ward-mote Quest. A 
court formerly held in every 
ward in the city of London. 
I. 2. 28. 

Wave, Waive, v. To set aside ; to 
abandon. 4.3.15; Epilogue. 2. 

Watch, n. A keeping awake for 
the purpose of guarding or 
preserving. 2. 6. 9. 

Wed^e, n. A space in the form 
of a wedge. Ind. 28. 

Well-prest, ppl. a. Well urged 
by argument ; well emphasized. 

3. 5. 166. 

Wench, n. A girl, maid. 4 2. 37. 

Win, V. To get gain. 3. 4. 25. 

Wit, n. Understanding, saga- 
city. Ind. 38; I. I. 13. 

Withall, prep. [Form of withal.'] 
An emphatic form of with, used 
after the object at the end of a 
sentence or clause. 

Witnesse, n. "fA sponsor, as at a 
baptism or christening. 4. 8. 16. 

Witty, a. fWell-informed ; know- 
ing ; clever, i. 2. i; i. 3. 16; 
I. 5. 31 ; 2. Ch. 41. 

Woo, V. To seek to influence by 
importunity. Arch. Ind. 106. 

Worme, v. To free from worms. 

1. 7. 44. 

Worship, a. [O. E. weorthscipe.] 
A title of honor used in 
addressing people of rank. 2. 

2. 39; 2. 3. 9. 
Worshipfull, a. [Form of wor- 
shipful.] Worthy of honor, i. 

4. 20. 

Would, V. Requires to. 4. 7. 4. 
Writ, V. Pret. of write. Arch. 

I. 4. 5. 
Writ, pp. of write. Obs. or arch. 

3- 5- 5- 



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INDEX 



Abbott, E. A., Shakespearian 
Grammar, 117, 118, 123, 124, 
140, 141, 149, 152, 169, 171, 
178, 187, 190. 

Accidental cause, 180. 

Action and narrative, the relation 
of, 114. 

^sculapius, 201. 

Aldermanity, 202. 

All-to-be, 136. 

Almond for Parratt, 201. 

Ambergris, 163. 

Apperill, 204. 

Archimedes, 131. 

Aristophanes, Clouds, 116. 

Aristotle, no, 118. 

Arminians, 126. 

Aronstein, PhiUpp, criticism of 
Magnetic Lady, xxix. 

Astrology, 138. 

Auxiliary do, omission of, 140, 

151- 
Averroes, 164. 
Avicenna, 164. 

B 
Bacon, Francis, Of Usury, in. 
Balls of soap, 159. 
Barlow, William, 124. 
Bastards, English law relating to, 

191. 
Bear-baiting, 160. 
Bells, the ringing of, 191. 
Bencher, 184. 
Buttered news, 179. 
Black, custom of wearing at 

funerals, 119. 
Boy, o' the sword, 168. 
Break, 204. 
Bulke, 121, 184. 



Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy, 

121, 125, 134, 152, 199. 
Burton, Henry, 128. 
Buts, 124. 

C 
Can, 120. 
Car act, 118. 

Castelain, M., criticism of Mag- 
netic Lady, xxx. 
Chaucer, Geoffrey, xx, 120, 121, 

122, 130, 145, 165, 170. 
Choke-bail, 204. 
Christian valor, 179. 
Chuck, 147. 

Cicero, De Finibus Bonorum et 
Malorum, 131 ; De Natura 
Deorum, 179; his definition of 
comedy, 138. 

Citizens of London, their oppo- 
sition to Charles, 178. 

Classical borrowings, xxiii. 

Claudian, Magnes, 109. 

Conundrums, 185. 

Covey, 154. 

Cracked within the ring, 179. 

Creditor, legal power over debtor, 
204. 

D 

Dark by darker, 146. 

Days, good and bad, 183. 

Decorum, 115. 

Dekker, Thomas, Gul's Horn- 
book, 113. 

Dictamen, 117. 

Doctrine and use, 161. 

Don, 185. 

Dress, extravagance of, 186. 

Dueling, vogue of, 171. 



Earle, John, Microcosmography , 
116, 170. 



Index 



231 



Editions of the text, vii. 

Executions as popular enter- 
tainments, 177. 

Extravagance of people of fashion, 
196. 

F 

Fether, 123. 

Flattery of nobles by men of 
letters, 138. 

Fly. 154- 

Fly to the mark, 117. 



Galen, 164. 
Genius, 178. 
Gentleman-usher, 148. 
Gill, Alexander, Uppon Ben John- 
son's Magnetick Ladye, 175. 
Good uses, to, 126. 
Green sickness, 125. 
Guard, 131. 

H 
Haggard, 166. 
Hand-gout, 170. 
Head, o' the first, 147. 
Hippocrates, 164. 
History of Guy Earl of Warwick, 

136. 
Hokos-pokos, 137. 
Horace, De Arte Poetica, 115, 

158; Eppodes, 123; Satires, 

155- 

I 
Iniquity, 155. 

J 

Jack, 138. 

Jonson, Ben, his contempt for 
the common people, 112; his 
corpulence, 121 ; his plays 
contrasted to romantic drama, 
136 ; his theory of the function 
of comedy, 155, 158; his satire 
upon young statesmen, 134; 
his satire of the predictions in 
almanacs, 182 ; his satire of 
popular superstitions, 197 ; his 
satire of injudicious spectators, 
118 ; his satire of lawyers, 154 ; 
his satire of dueUing, 167. 

Juvenal, Satires, 131, 154. 



K 
King Charles as Jonson's patron, 

138. 
Knitting cup, 184. 

M 

Machaon, 201. 

Machiavelli, 132. 

Magna Charta of reprehension, 
181. 

Magnetic Lady, date of, vii ; re- 
ception of, viii ; allegory in, x ; 
specific objects of satire in, 
xii ; satire of types in, xiii ; 
prototypes of the characters in 
xviii ; sources of, xx — xxiv ; 
relation of, to satire and satiric 
drama, xxiv ; scope of satire 
of, XXV ; criticisms of, xxvii — 
xxxii ; critical estimate of, 
xxxiii. 

Marlowe, Christopher, Jew of 
Malta, 151. 

Martial, Satires, 156. 

Masoreth, 128. 

Medicine, its relation to various 
superstitions, 199. 

Market, to make, 190. 

Metrical investigation ; see Ab- 
bott. 

Monologues which characterize 
the persons addressed, 167. 

Months mind, 162. 

Mushroom, 173. 

Muss, 185. 

N 

News, a, 188. 

O 
Open sale market, 150. 



Perdu, 175. 

Persons, 127. 

Phlebotomy, 171. 

Podalirius, 201. 

Plautus, MencBchimi, Miles Glo- 

riosus, 143. 
Poesy, 189. 
Practice of Piety, 187. 
Preston, John, 129. 
Price of seats in theatres, 159. 



232 



The Magnetic Lady 



Prick, 141. 

Projects general. 188. 
Prynne, William, 128. 
Puppet shows, 160. 
Puritans, xvii, 127, 129. 

R 

Rasis, 164. 

Rate of interest, 151. 

Relative pronoun, omission of, 

117. 
Remora, 142. 
Ridley, Mark, 124. 
Rosa solis, 165. 
Rudhudibras, 163. 
Saints, their supposed power of 

healing diseases, 144. 



Search to the nail, 181. 

Secretary, 190. 

Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice, 

no. 
Sheaf, 178. 

Sidney, Defense of Poesy, 115. 
Silken, 169. 
Silk stockings, 165. 
Silver bells, wearing as a sign of 

success, 195. 
Singular, use of for plural, 147. 
Slip, 180. 
Somnambulists, supposed powers 

of, 200. 
Spiced, 189. 
Spital preachers, 126. 
Squire, 113. 

Star Chamber Court, 166. 
State decipherers, 153. 



Stone-doctor, 144. 
Stubbes, PhiUp, Anatomy of 
Abuses, no, 121, 122, 132, 186. 
Surreverently , 119. 



Tell-troth, 193. 
Terence, Andria, 113. 
Theft, a capital offence, 176. 
Thorndike, A. H., criticism of 

Magnetic Lady, xxxii. 
Tiffany, 146. 
Titius, or Seius, 156. 
Tobacco, smoking, in Jonson's 

time, 180. 
Top-gallant, 182. 
To take the wall of, 153. 
Tother, 171. 
Town-top, 174. 
Tye, III. 

U 
Unity of time, 135. 
Urine, diagnosis of disease by 

inspection of, 195. 
Usurer, no. 

V 

Viper, superstition about, 186. 

Vi-politique, n i . 

Vitruvius, 114; De Architectura 
n4. 

Vocative, not preceded by comma 
140. 

W 

Ward, A. W., criticism of Magne- 
tic Lady, xxvii. 

Whirl-pool, 195. 

Witness, 191. 

Women compared to ships, 142. 



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Charles Grosvenor Osgood, Ph.D. $1.00. 
IX. A Guide to the Middle English Metrical Romances dealing 

with English and Germanic Legends, and with the 

Cycles of Charlemagne and of Arthur. Anna Hunt 

Billings, Ph.D. $1.50. 
X. The Earliest Lives of Dante, translated from the Italian of 

Giovanni Boccaccio and Lionardo Bruni Aretino. James 

Robinson Smith. $0.75. 
XI. A Study in Epic Development. Irene T. Myers, Ph.D. 

$1.00. 
Xn. The Short Story. Henry Seidel Canby, Ph.D. $0.30. 
Xin. King Alfred's Old English Version of St. Augustine's 

Soliloquies, edited with Introduction, Notes, and 

Glossary. Henry Lee Hargrove, Ph.D. $1.00. 



Tale Studies in English 

XrV. The Phonology of the Northumbrian Gloss of St 

Matthew. Emily Howard Foley, Ph.D. $0.75. 
XV. Essays on the Study and Use of Poetry by Plutarch 
and Basil the Great, translated from the Greek, 
with an Introduction. Frederick M. Padelford, 
Ph.D. $0.75. 
XVI. The Translations of Beowulf: A Critical Bibliography. 

Chauncey B. Tinker, Ph.D. $0.75. 
XVn. The Alchemist, by Ben Jonson, edited with Intro- 
duction, Notes, and Glossary. Charles M. Hatha- 
way, Jr., Ph.D. $2.50. Cloth, $3.00. 
XVni. The Expression of Purpose in Old English Prose 
Hubert Gibson Shearin, Ph.D. $1.00. 
XIX. Classical M)rthology in Shakespeare. Robert Kilburn 

Root, Ph.D. $1.00. 
XX. The Controversy between the Puritans and the Stage. 

Elbert N. S. Thompson, Ph.D. $2.00. 
XXI. The Elene of Cynewulf, translated into English Prose. 

Lucius Hudson Holt, Ph.D. $0.30. 
XXII. King Alfred's Old English Version of St. Augustine's 
Soliloquies, turned into Modem English. Henry Lee 
Hargrove, Ph.D. $0.75. 
XXm. The Cross in the Life and Literature of the Anglo-Saxons. 

William O. Stevens, Ph.D. $0.75. 
XXIV. An Index to the Old English Glosses of the Durham 

Hymnarium. Harvey W. Chapman. $0.75. 
XXV. Bartholomew Fair, by Ben Jonson, edited with Introduc- 
tion, Notes, and Glossary. Carroll Storrs Alden, 
Ph.D. $2.00. 
XXVI. Select Translations from Scaliger's Poetics. Frederick 

M. Padelford, Ph.D. $0.75. 
XXVn. Poetaster, by Ben Jonson, edited with Introduction, 
Notes, and Glossary. Herbert S. Mallory, Ph.D. 
$2.00. Cloth, $2.50. 
XXVIII. The Staple of News, by Ben Jonson, edited with 
Introduction, Notes, and Glossary. De Winter, 
Ph.D. $2.00. Cloth, $2.50. 



Tale Studies in English 

XXIX. The Devil is an Ass, by Ben Jonson, edited with In- 
troduction, Notes, and Glossary. William Savage 
ToHNSON, Ph.D. $2.00. Cloth, $2.50. 
XXX. The Language of the Northumbrian Gloss to the 
Gospel of St. Luke. Margaret Dutton Kellum, 
Ph.D. $0.75. 
XXXI. Epicoene, by Ben Jonson, edited with Introduction 
Notes, and Glossary. Aurelia Henry, Ph.D. $2.00, 
Cloth, $2.50. 
XXXII. The Syntax of the Temporal Clause in Old English 

Prose. Arthur Adams, Ph.D. $1.00. 
XXXin. The Knight of the Burning Pestle, by Beaumont and 
Fletcher, edited with Introduction, Notes, and 
Glossary. Herbert S. Murch, Ph.D. $2.00. Cloth, 
$2.50. 
XXXrV. The New Inn, by Ben Jonson, edited with Intro- 
duction, Notes, and Glossary. George Bremner 
Tennant, Ph.D. $2.00. Cloth, $2.50. 
XXXV. A Glossary of Wulfstan's Homilies. Loring H. Dodd, 

Ph.D. $1.00. 
XXXVI. The Complaint of Nature, translated from the Latin 
of Alain de Lille. Douglas M. Moffat. $0.75. 
XXXVn. The Collaboration of Webster and Dekker. Fred- 
erick Erastus Pierce, Ph.D. $1.00. 
XXXVIII. English Nativity Plays, edited with Introduction, 
Notes, and Glossary. Samuel B. Hemingway, Ph.D. 
$2.00. Cloth $2.50. 
XXXIX. Concessive Constructions in Old English Prose. 
Josephine May Burnham, Ph.D. $1.00. 
XL. The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates, by John Milton, 
edited with Introduction and Notes. William 
Talbot Allison, Ph.D. $1.25. 
XLI. Biblical Quotations in Middle English Literature 

before 1350. Mary W. Smyth, Ph.D. $2.00. 
XLII. The Dialogue in English Literature. Elizabeth 
Merrill, Ph.D. $1.00. 

Q 



• Tale Studies in English 

XLIII. A Study of Tindale's Genesis, compared with the 
Genesis ofCoverdaleand ofthe Authorized Version. 
Elizabeth Whittlesey Cleaveland, Ph.D. $2.00. 

XLIV. The Presentation of Time in the EUzabethan Drama. 

Mable Buland, Ph.D. $1.50. 
XLV. Cynthia's Revels, or, The Fountain of Self-Love, by 
Ben Jonson, edited with Introduction, Notes, and 
Glossary. Alexander Corbin Judson, Ph.D. $2.00. 

XL VI. Richard Brome: A Study of his Life and Works. 

Clarence Edward Andrews, Ph.D. $1.25. 
XLVII. The Magnetic Lady, or, Humors Reconciled, by Ben 
Jonson, edited with Introduction, Notes, and 
Glossary. Harvey Whitefield Peck, Ph.D. $2.00 



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